Original - Wolf of The Water Tribe
by Rogue-Mando
Summary: The first Wolf of the Water Tribe, currently being rewritten but this will stay up for posterity's sake.
1. Book One - Wind Chapter 1, Shatterpoint

**AN: I own neither PJO or the World of Avatar the Last Airbender and everything that comes with it, *mentally sobbing at the thought I could have been rich!***

"_Perseus," a whisper in the darkness calls out, "Perseus, awaken."_

Waking up with a start, I don't see the familiar sights of cabin three, I see water surrounding me. I look around only to see nothing; no fish, no life, no debris, I don't even feel a current. I swim to the surface of the water to look for shore. But there's nothing. I focus on my internal compass and feel for my bearings, and again, nothing. Literally.

Usually, I can tell you exactly where I'm at under or over water. But now? I'm apparently standing over something or maybe nothing, I'm not sure. This is insane… might as well try something similar. I jump out of the water, willing it to support my weight and stand on top of the still surface.

"_Good, Perseus, good. We have much to discuss." _A woman's voice comes from everywhere yet nowhere, _"I am Raava, and my world is in danger. I know you have lost much Perseus,"_

I scoff at the understatement but this Raava thing continues,

"_But I offer you a new beginning. A new life, a new family, a new world entirely. But, this world must be saved."_

Here we go again… another world to save, wasn't the first enough?

"_I am the spirit of the Avatar, a person who binds the realm of spirits to the realm of benders. The benders are men and women who control the major elements of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air comprising the four nations: the Water Tribes -settled at the north and south poles-, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the now extinct Air Nomads. The Fire Nation, much like the imperial nation of Japan in your second World War, has expanded their influence through conquest. The Air Nomads are no more, the few remaing airbenders are comprised the descendants of four air nomads that escaped the Fire Nation's genocide, no longer do they take the tattoos of their ancestors but leave their skin bare while hiding amongst the people of the Earth Kingdom. The avatar was once the peacekeeper of the nations, a bridge between the mortal and immortal planes, as such he is able to bend all four elements. If you should accept this offer, you will have authority over Earth, Wind, and Fire to add strength to your dominion over Water. I ask for your help, the cycle is broken, only a man outside of the four nations may take up the mantle."_

I blink, this was unexpected but "why do you need my help?"

"_The pact I made with the first Avatar, it did not do as I wished… A mistake was made where the first Avatar asked for me to be given to each nation until the cycle was broken, I agreed. I intended for these powers to be passed on in times of great need to the worthiest of the four, the best of each nation when the previous avatar died. Until the day I and the first Avatar merged in spirit and body from a decision made by the first Avatar, now I am only able to pass from newborn to newborn through the nations in a cycle of air, water, earth, and fire through my spirit. I pass to the first child born in the next nation of the cycle after the previous avatar dies. Regretful but manageable. I am the Avatar's spirit, therefore all avatars live on after death through me. The Avatar is able to commune with the spirits of his past lives, thus he is at his strongest but also his most vulnerable. If he dies in this state, the cycle is broken."_

There it is.

"Great, lady…" I sigh and shake my head slowly, putting my forehead in my hand before exhaling sharply, looking up to the horizon I ask, "but how is this my problem?"

"_It does not have to be," _my eyebrow shoots up, that was unexpected..._ "but this world is on the verge of falling to chaos. The fire nation has nearly taken over the world. If they are not stopped, then this world will fall. The Avatar, an airbender named Aang, has fallen. He was immolated by a particularly powerful bolt of lightning whilst in the Avatar state. There are people he touched that will no longer be redeemed without his guidance."_

"Redeemed?" I scoff at the term... I call out to the unseen voice in the deep blue void, "like Luke? We had Kronos defeated, he had stabbed himself! His last action could have been that of a hero, he could have been remembered for saving everyone from Kronos, but it wasn't!" I scream to the sky, "his last action was to bury Annabeth's OWN knife in her chest when she said she didn't love him!" My voice breaks and I fall to my knees, in a broken whisper, "Redemption is a lie and friends die... I don't have any now, thanks to this war, and you are asking me to fight another?" I feel the tears stream down my face.

"_Yes. I have no choice, and for that, I am truly sorry," _the voice says genuine in it's remorse,_ "The Avatar can no longer come from one of the four elemental nations, and if the fire nation succeeds millions will die, and I will too. In a month you will have your memory erased, kidnapped by Juno," _who the Hades is Juno?_ "and forced into another war for the gods, one more devastating than the one against the Titans. You will be fighting the Earth mother herself."_

I loosen my control over the sea and fall under at this news. Another war? So soon? Haven't I lost enough? I'm not fighting one that could kill hundreds more demigods… whatever this voice wants maybe will be better than a waragainst an opponent like that. I listen as she continues on.

"_Is this what you truly want? A war that, without Annabeth Chase, cannot be won. You will die. Your soul will pass to the underworld but it will not remain there. It will be tossed to the void along with every other hero in Elysium. You will know nothing, Annabeth will know nothing, your friends will know nothing for longer than eternity. But if you leave, the Earth mother will show mercy."_

Sold.

"I accept your offer," I whisper brokenly, no one deserves that fate... "they deserve their rest."

"_Thank you, Perseus, and good luck." _I nod and close my eyes.

A beam of blue-white light engulfs me in an instant. I find myself on an iceberg in the middle of nowhere and, miraculously, I'm not in just the boxers I went to sleep in. Instead, I'm in a black parka with a blue trident standing out on the left shoulder, a pair of fur pants, thick boots, and -most shockingly- armor over my chest, back, shins, forearms, a helmet, a knife in my boot and another familiar weight settled on my hip, with a Trident in my right hand.

I look over the weapon quickly and realize something important, it's steel… At first glance, it looked like Stygian Iron but it's not soul sucky enough for that. It feels similar to how riptide did, not physically but there's something about it, maybe?

I twirl the spear, smirking slightly when it shrinks into a ring on my right hand. Magic. That's what it was. Strangely, I also feel lighter. Confused as to why that could be, I look down and nearly jump as I see my armor disappeared too. I catch a glint of metal on my wrist, and see a bracelet settled on it with a Trident engraved in the metal.

When I finally look up I see a pair of teenagers with their jaws on the floor. The guy is looking from me to a spot behind me every other second. I turn around to find what's so interesting to him and my eyes land on a huge buffalo spider looking thing and a boy rapidly disappearing into thin air, my eyes widen like the other two when I see that but I rush into action.

I kneel beside the quickly disintegrating body and say the first words that come to my mind, ignoring the two teens behind me.

"In life, loved.

In death, free.

With the spirits, may you find rest.

May your life be celebrated,

May your death be mourned.

Go on the wind, Airbender, for you are free.

Go in peace, Avatar, for your duty has been passed to another.

Fly high, son of the sky, for your Earthly tether is no more."

The boy fades to nothing. I look over at the unharmed, but asleep, spider-buffalo wondering what the heck I'm going to do with him. A blue light ripples into existence and the boy is looking back at me, _'his name is Appa, he was my sky bison. Take care of him for me? If he stays with you, he'll fly when you say 'yip yip'" _The boy fades from view once again and I rise to my feet, looking over to the two stunned teenagers the girl speaks first.

"He was the Avatar?" The girl asks in a small voice while the boy's jaw just works up and down until he manages to get out,

"Who are you? How'd you get here? Where'd that spear go? And where's the armor?" He almost overlaps his companion but the way he says it gives away his nervous fascination. A tense, uncertain voice that lightens when mentioning the Trident, really need to name that… οδόφραγμα, odofragma... Barricade. Yes, that will do well.

I look at the girl and nod solemnly, pausing for a few moments to gather my thoughts before answering the boy's question aloud. Looking into his wide eyes, I watch as they slowly return to normal as his face slackens while he slowly falls to his knees, a look of numb horror written across his face.

"The Avatar is a baby again, isn't he?" His voice breaks and he looks me in the eye. I shake my head slowly disagreeing.

"No, I'm the new Avatar. How I got here though? Well, that's a story…," I shrug and think about a few minutes ago, both teens stare at me with eyes the size of saucers and jaws on the floor. The guy jumps to his feet, turning to his companion and taking her shoulders in his hands, he almost screams out,

"Katara, he can stop this war!" he turns to me, falling to his knees again, "You can save us!"

"Maybe, but I need to see just how bad this war is," I tell him using the ice and snow to pull him to his feet, "so her name's Katara, what's yours?"

"You know how to water bend!" the very attractive girl, Katara, calls out but calms down pretty quickly, but the excitement is still clear in her eyes, "this is my brother, Sokka. Could you tell us yours?"

"My name is Perseus, but most people call me Percy."

"We need to get back to the village!" Sokka cries out, "do you think the giant monster thing could take us?" he starts pacing back and forth before starting toward Appa.

I look over at Appa, "I believe the Skybison could, but," I lock eyes with Sokka, "I can do one better." I focus on the water and force the iceberg forward and the currents to take us even faster getting us up to ten knots rapidly toward open water, "what's the heading to get you two back home?" Sokka just kinda points and falls over, out cold. This guy really fainted?

"Could you teach me how to do that?" she asks excitedly, "I'm a water bender but I need a master, could you teach me?" she demonstrates by pulling a ball of water from the sea.

"Yeah," I say hesitantly, "I'm sure I could try, but I can't promise any more than tha-" A low groan from the giant behind us interrupts the rest of my response. I turn around pulling my hands up as I go meeting giant grey-black eyes, "Appa, hi buddy, I'm Percy. Aang told me to take care of you," the bison tilts his head at me curiously, "Aang isn't coming back, buddy," I look at the bison as the words register with him, _'ανάθεμα this guy is smart,'_ he tilts his head back and roars out his grief before looking back to me. His eyes sort of glaze over and suddenly he falls limp to the ice. I blink in stunned confusion, _'what the hades just happened?'_

'_He's yours now,' _a faint voice calls through my head, as Katara's cuts through the air.

"Percy? Your eyes are glowing..." I blink before the term comes to mind.

"Sorry, Avatar state I'm guessing. I've never been in it but I assume that was it, at least partially. This guys last owner just told me he's mine," she looks absolutely stunned but nods in at least partial understanding before hesitantly continuing on our conversation,

"So…" she starts, "why are you not sure if you can teach me water bending? It looks like you're already a master," she says with such hope visible in her eyes that I don't want to let her down, _'σκατά… time to think fast.'_

"I'm self taught," entirely true, "But what's that?" I nod to a flicker of light in the darkness.

She looks where I nodded, grinning when she sees the light on the ice shelf, she points at it and says "that's the village! Oh they're going to freak out when we tell them you're the avatar!"

When we arrived at the village… Well, let's just say 'freak out' was almost literal.

I forced the ice to melt in order to push the iceberg through the ice to about fifty feet from the wall, freezing the water behind us. I walk toward Appa and nudge his side gently trying to get him to wake up, he does. I smile at him carefully, "hey buddy, it's time to get to the village over there," I nod toward the village and he groans in acceptance. I throw Sokka over my shoulders in a fireman's carry, looking over to Katara we start our walk to the village "_gate_" with Appa at our side. Appa eventually splits from us, floating over and laying down at the side of the village gate.

We enter the _'town square would be generous wouldn't it?' _to find the entire town had gathered into it. The village was bathed in fire light from a few torches around the square, the village women were holding flimsy spears and clubs in an attempt to guard the children.

"Katara?" A shocked voice calls out, "2here's Sok- Why is Sokka over this young man's shoulder? Better yet, who is this young man?" A villager elder calls across the ice and snow. The woman walks up to us like she owns the village, which she probably does. Thankfully this broke the ice in the village, not the ice under our feet - mind you, that could have been disastrous. The village women disperse back to their tents taking their children with them, "I believe they have the right idea, shall we take this to our tent, Katara?"

"Yes, gran-gran," she says quietly. We make our way to the village's largest tent. I lay Sokka on a cot, assuming it's his due to the _'armor' _next to it. _'Wouldn't be very effective in combat would it? Looks like decorative fabric, maybe some low quality leather, but there aren't even enough layers to stop a determined arrow but it looks well insulated… Ah, anyway…' _I look over to the grandmother, dropping to my knees in a Japanese style - completely uncertain as to what to do or say to a tribal elder but end up saying:

"Elder, my name is Perseus Jackson, I am the Avatar," I keep my eyes on the floor to keep my small blush of embarrassment from being seen but I miss her initial reaction in return.

"Rise, Avatar, you need not bow to me," her voice wavers slightly and I look up at her, rising to my full height, "you are an airbender then, boy?" And there it is, the confusion laced with disbelief.

"No ma'am, I'm from a land far from here, summoned by the spirit of the Avatar herself," I say while Katara looks on in shock, "Avatar Aang was the last avatar, _he _was the airbender. I know as much as Katara and Sokka do about that with the added bonus of knowing he died from a lighting strike in the Avatar state."

The elder's eyes widen and she covered her mouth with her hands in pure horror, but that passed into confusion, "then how can you be the Avatar?"

I smile wryly at the question, "I am not from any of the elemental nations. The Avatar spirit has passed from Fire, Air, Water, and Earth for millennia," I say and the woman nods, "but in that time, an Avatar has not been killed while in the Avatar State. How did they know what would happen if they died in the Avatar State?"

The old woman's eyes widened in recognition and in hope, "incredible…"

"Aye," I say with a grin, "that it is."

"But why you?" and with those three simple words my world collapses once again.

"I had nothing left to lose," I look into the old woman's eyes before adding, "the girl I loved, dead. My father abandoned me and my mother. My friends, dead. My mother, dead. My mentor, injured." I sigh thinking about what happened to Chiron as the elder nods while Katara's eyes mist over.

"I lost my mother too… I was eight, it was a fire nation raid. She died protecting me..." she choked back a sob as the tears stream down her face.

I nod and rise to my feet, opening my arms for the girl. She practically tackles me as tears stream from her eyes, I nod to the elder and she walks across the tent. I pull back to look Katara in the eyes, "you may not have been able to save her, and I may not be able to bring her back, but you'll be damn sure we'll avenge her," she nods vigorously and takes me by the arm.

"C'mon lets get you to a tent."

I follow behind her as she leads me to an empty tent, she leads me inside. I pull the flap aside as Katara pulls me into another bone crushing hug, "I knew you'd come back," she whispered before kissing my cheek, pulling back hesitantly retreating from the tent, great… really pretty girl has a crush on me. This might not be an awful thing, but we'll see what happens. I pull back the sleeping bag, laying down, and closing my eyes falling into a dreamless sleep… that's a first. I wake up to the sound of ice cracking in the distance. I jump to my feet, and pull on my clothes. Katara chooses that exact moment to burst in. While I'm only in boxers…

"Percy! The fire- Oh!" her dark complexion turns bright red as she runs from the tent, I laugh gently but rapidly pull on my pants, boots, shirt, and coat. I walk out of the tent glancing over at a furious blushing Katara, I walk up next to her elbowing her ribs gently.

"So, enjoy the show?" I grin as the blush spreads from her cheeks to down her neck, up into her forehead, and into her collar. Geez I didn't know it was possible to blush that much, but I sober up quickly, "what's the situation?"

"Fire nation warship spotted headed toward the village. It will be here so-"

"Bout time you woke up!" Sokka interrupts Katara as he walks over to us. He's decked out in… strips of cloth and warpaint? A skinny fishing spear in one hand with a club and strangely angled blade attached to his back. I blink at his words though.

"How long was I asleep and what are you wearing?"

"Ten or so hours, I'm impressed actually, this is my combat gear!"

"No, you'll get killed in that if a soldier doesn't think you're any more than a slight inconvenience," I gesture to the strips of linen over his body, "those will go up like oil if a firebender sends a jet of flame your way," he gawks at me as I say those words, that's when the wall of the village comes down. Appa roars in disapproval as his resting place literally falls away.

I look over to see a ship's prow axing through the ice, a black ugly thing fifty feet tall with an odd curl trailing up the top. The steel warship comes to a halt after it rips down the village wall.

A gangplank falls from the front of the prow, three men appear at the top. Two masked soldiers flanking a teenager? He has pale skin, golden eyes, and ανάθεμα that's a big scar… He charges down like a man on a mission, which he probably is, but Sokka -the bonehead- charges up the runway to meet him. Getting swiftly kicked off to faceplant in the snow… I facepalm and look up to see the teenager is pacing like an angry tiger in front of the villagers.

"Where are you hiding him?" We lock eyes and he moves on, grabbing Katara's grandmother, "he'd be about this age, master of _all _elements!" He shoves her back and she immediately grabs her granddaughter in a hug, shaking in terror. I'm about to step forward but Sokka -the bonehead- charges the guy with a club again shouting at the top of his lungs… Obviously he gets judo flipped harder than I used to by Annabeth. He lands on his rear before taking the blade strapped to his back and flinging it at the guy, he misses but I smirk knowing what's about to happen. Sokka you genius, you're a bonehead but a genius.

"Show no fear," a kid says tossing Sokka the flimsiest spear I think I've ever seen. This is proven by the guy snapping the spear and then poking him in the forehead with it, I can't help the smirk that comes over my face at that. That's when the prince was whacked in the back of the head by the boomerang. I step forward when I see the rage boil forth on his face.

"I am the Avatar," I call out and his eyes snap to me as his good one widens while the other attempts to.

"You're the airbender? You're the avatar?"

"Actually the airbender you're looking for died yesterday, I guess you could say I'm his replacement."

The guy blinks and then puts his hands up in a fighting position, "I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating... And you're my age!"

I will the ice to surround every firebender on the ice sheet and constantly regenerate from the steam they produce.

"Well, you see here. We're kind of at an impasse, wouldn't you say? You may be my age but you're out of your weight class. I don't want to fight you but you want to kill me. I could kill you like a bug while you're helpless like these people are compared to the military might of the fire nation. I don't want to hurt you right now, but I have a feeling this won't be the last time I see you if I let you go free… so what do I do with you?"

"UNCLE!" The boy roars out. I raise my eyebrow, why is this guy already- a bolt of fire passes over my head and I intercept it with a ball of water.

"Prince Zuko, how do you always get into these situations?" _'Prince?'_

"Prince?" Sokka mirrors my thoughts as he calls out from the crowd.

"Uncle, this is the Avatar! Capture him!"

"Oh! How nice!" I freeze the old man as what looks like the entirety of the crew charges down from the gangplank, I freeze them too as soon as they step onto the ice. I shake my head at how easy this is.

"People of the water tribe, welcome to your new vessel!" I look at the fire nation soldiers and focus on grouping them together, commanding the ice and steam to keep freezing for three hours so we can get a good distance out to sea, "you two though," I unfreeze Zuko and his Uncle leaving their hands and feet frozen in blocks of ice, "are coming with us."

I levitate the two to the ship and lead the water tribe aboard the fire nation vessel, except only two follow me. Katara and Sokka, with sleeping packs tossed over their shoulders. I sigh and focus on the other firebenders, willing them onto the ship. Appa flies to the top of the deck as I will the gangplank to shut.

"As the two princes of the fire nation, you are entitled to your personal quarters. They will be frozen shut until meal times and designated times on deck, other than that you are our prisoners until we can find a prison in either the northern water tribe or the Earth Kingdom that can keep a platoon of fire benders prisoner."

Iroh nods his head as Zuko looks furious. I feel the ship under my feet and will it to come back from the ice, I steer us toward the open sea. Next stop? According to these maps, the closest semi large settlement is on Kyoshi Island, let's see what we can do.


	2. Neptune Rising

**Mandatory AN saying that I do not, will not, nor will I ever own Percy Jackson, ATLA, or TLOK.**

**_Percy II_**

A fortnight. It took us two weeks to reach Kyoshi Island, even with me propelling the ship as fast as I possibly could. Along the way, Sokka made friends with a lemur bat -because a lemur isn't enough apparently- when we passed by the ruins of the southern air temple. He named the thing Momo, wonderful. Honestly, leaving the firebenders at the southern air temple, without rope, was probably the best idea I could have come up with… Assuming they stay there, they'll survive the cold, thanks to the firebenders they'll be warm and can melt water from the snow. Assuming a fire nation ship arrives within a month, they'll live. After all, that's the amount of supplies I left for them.

In the end, I kept their ship and freed their Rhinos. After all, what city would be willing or _able _to hold ten firebenders and the twenty soldiers with them? The fact that I left most of their food supplies with them, to find of course, should help. I told all this to Prince Zuko, except for the fact that they had most of their supplies. Now we need to resupply so we can actually live.

After a few days of sailing and avoiding other fire nation ships, we reached the outer waters of the closest island, Kyoshi. Still too slow if you ask me, but oh well. During the trip, the three of us got much closer.

"So, Percy, you said we were going to Kyoshi but you never said how you were driving this thing," Sokka calls out to me, "and you never told us how you got this ship to sail by yourself?"

"This thing has an engine, anyone can sail it by themselves. And you forget, waterbender here. I can make this thing do whatever I want with a thought. Katara, how're you coming along with bending the water to move with only your mind?"

"Horribly, that's why I'm attempting to fix these," she holds up a pair of pants as I command the ship to circle the island, "still don't know how you managed to do this on a boat, Sokka!"

"Hey! When you're as awesome as me you can do anything!"

"You got them caught on the edge of a bunk didn't you?" I smirk as he scratches the back of his head looking toward the island, he takes a step back while screaming "SEA MONSTER!" at the top of his lungs. He points in the direction of the island while trembling like a leaf. I step to the rail while raising my hand at the rapidly approaching shadow.

"Halt."

The shadow freezes in its place, Katara and Sokka look absolutely stunned. Then again, since when could the avatar control sea monsters? I turn to them, looking eyes with Katara.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to see what our big friend wants," I dive from the railing to Katara's screams and Sokka's protests.

The instant I hit the water, I force the current to warp around me to fire off like a torpedo towards the still, well… still serpentine sea monster looming ahead of me.

"Lord La's chosen, I am not worthy…" the huge being trembles in fear, who the Hades is this Lord La? The sea spirit here? Little did I know…

"Please, forgive me, my Lord, I did not know you were on the death floater…"

"Death Floater?" I guess I'll have to address the 'My Lord' bit in a second.

"Yes, my Lord. These floaters have killed many of my kind… I and three others are all that remain in this world."

I pause for a moment before finally saying to the beast, "Please, don't call me Lord. As far as I know, I'm not Lord La's chosen, I'm just Perseus Jackson. I happen to be the Avatar, but not chosen by any other spirits," I can't say I've ever seen shock ripple across the body of a sea monster until today, but now I can say that. Also, I can tell people that disbelief and excitement _can _be etched into a sea monster's face.

"Son of the sea god…"

And that's where I feel like I've been slapped.

"Yes."

He tilts his head back, roaring in either a battle cry or in triumph's call, hopefully it's the latter…

"SON OF THE SEA GOD! THE BROTHER OF LA HAS COME, ALL HAIL THE SON OF LORD NEPTUNE! THE CHILD OF KING POSEIDON! ALL THE SEA SHALL HEAR YOUR NAME, AVATAR OF RAAVA! SON OF THE SEA GOD! WHAT DO YOU WISH OF ME?"

"Uh…" I'm speechless, after all, what can I say to _that_? "Any ship of metal that spits fire, or who's passengers do, are free for destruction. Any vessel that kills your people are marked for destruction. Go, elder, for your work has just begun,"

The monster shoots off toward the open sea without a second thought, I blink twice as I hear his calls of "The son of Neptune has returned!"

I shake my head, aiming back toward the ship. Launch myself level with the deck, I find Katara and Sokka looking at me with nerves obviously on edge. Relief visibly cuts across their faces but Katara's changes to a mask of pure fury as she storms up to me with all the force of a hurricane.

A sharp slap rings out over the deck, I feel the sting from where her fingers impacted against my cheek. Katara's face has tears running down it now, "what were you thinking?" She whispers in a broken voice, "you could have died, Percy! Don't do that again!" She yells in my face, her fear and anger finally getting the best of her.

"I-" I stutter as Katara slaps me again.

"Do I need to hit you a third time for you to get the message _to not jump off a boat into a MONSTER'S MOUTH!?"_

I look over to Sokka who looks just as terrified as I do, I look back into Katara's raging blue eyes and nod slowly.

"Good," her face softens as she tackles me into a hug, much to my and Sokka's surprise.

_**Later… On the Beach...**_

Eventually, we made land after dodging massive Koi… _'What kind of combination of animals could make _those? _An Elephant or a whale hybridized with a Koi?' _I shake my head at the idea as our ship sits at the edge of the deep water bay of the island. As of now, the mighty Fire Nation warship looks more like a duck than anything. I actually grin at the image.

"And what has you so happy?" Katara asks accusingly.

"The idea of our ship being replaced by a giant duck," I look at Sokka who smiles just as broadly while Katara rolls her eyes with a whispered _"boys… _Wait, Appa! No, you can't eat a tree!"

I shake my head and move to help her but before we can reach Appa we're surrounded by a group of seven fighters.

These girls look seriously familiar… Of course, that's when I get a flash of a memory that most definitely isn't mine. First of all, I've never worn a skirt in my life, secondly, I've never worn full makeup like this before, and, finally, I'm pretty sure my name isn't Kyoshi. Great... copycats.

The girls took down Sokka and Katara in seconds and also managed to bag Momo… Literally.

"Alright, ladies, I don't want any trouble," I say, raising my hands, much to their surprise.

One of the girls took my hands and tied them behind my back with a blindfold wrapped around my eyes.

The girls start leading us away with one on each side of me. I smirk as I hear Sokka whining and moaning about being captured but I just fall limp, no point in making this easy on them after all. After about a hundred yards of being dragged uphill - and more than a few muttered curses - I feel the rope being tied around us to a tree? _'No it's too smooth to be a tree, a post then,' _behind us. A man's voice rings out from no more than ten yards away from us "you three have some serious explaining to do."

Then a girl: "And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you in the water with Unagi."

I can't help but grin at this but I'm saved from retaliation by Sokka being Sokka.

"Show yourselves, cowards!"

'_Thank the gods, that blindfold was starting to itch.' _As soon as it comes over my head, I scan around my surroundings. Five girls, _'heavily armored girls that is,'_ an older gentleman, and what looks to be a medium sized town. And what are these ropes? I can't help myself from nearly laughing at the sheer audacity of these people. Old ropes that have been used in a fishing village? C'mon, I could break these with barely a thought and they would stand no chance if I was a firebender.

"Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?"

Oh Sokka, you idiotic, sexist, moronic, dumbass… you're going to get you and your sister killed. I open my mouth to berate the idiot but the leader chick, I'm assuming she's in an authority position because of the gold headpiece, beats me to it.

"There were no men. We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?" Oh σκάτα… She's pissed, thanks Sokka. Immediately, I cut Sokka off before he actually can get himself and, more importantly, Katara killed. I doubt they could kill me if they tried.

"We are here to restock our ship we captured from forty-two Fire Nation Soldiers and Firebenders in the south pole, including Prince Zuko and General Iroh. Can we resupply here? Or do we need to move onto the next major settlement?"

The six look at us in disbelief, "How did three of you keep forty-two fire benders under control? And where are they now?" The old man asks with hostility obvious in his tone.

"The southern air temple, not that they were all firebender but it's rather easy to do when you're the avatar," I shot back, making his jaw tighten.

"Impossible! The Avatar was an airbender who went missing a hundred years ago! Kyoshi has managed to stay out of this war, and stay out of it we shall! Girls! Feed them to Unagi!"

"Three slight problems with that," I break the ropes around me and summon forth a giant serpent of water from the surrounding air, encircling me, Sokka, and Katara to keep the girls at bay, "one: Unagi went far out to sea after we had a little chat, spirit to spirit. Two: I can keep forty-two _trained soldiers, _including _Firebenders, _at bay. You'll need an army to get me. And three?" I twist my ring, extending my trident, slamming it into the ground forcing the entire island to shake violently for a few beats as a massive earthquake rips through the foundations. Focusing on the water serpent, I split it into three rings - at chest, stomach and knee levels - forcing the water to spin like a giant buzz saw. The warriors step back with their eyes locked on the blades of spinning water, all of their eyes the size of saucers underneath the bright red paint.

"How is this possible, you're supposed to be an airbender!" The old man calls out before looking at Sokka and Katara as horror passes through his face, "he died, you're a water tribe…"

"Not exactly," I avoid the statement with a shrug, "we're on our way north to find this one," I nudge Katara gently, "a water bending master and along the way hopefully find an earth, fire, and air bending master to teach me."

"We wish you luck, Avatar, but there are no more Air Nomads who can teach you the ways of sky and wind," the old man says with a nervous tilt to his voice, fear too? Interesting…

"You know where the survivors are," It's not a question, and I don't phrase it as one. The entire village shifts nervously as the girls look back and forth at each other. Stepping forward the leader says,

"We have no idea what you're talking about. Everyone knows the airbenders were annihilated to the last man."

I frown at that, obviously this town knows something but fears they would become a target. Reasonable considering the fire nation slaughtered hundreds of air nomads simply for the possibility of destroying the Avatar. Suddenly, that doesn't seem to matter to them anymore as the village finally realizes the importance of what I said. Soon murmurs of "The Avatar!" start to circulate throughout the village.

I didn't know just how fast word of that would travel, we didn't even stay here two days and disaster struck… Well I say disaster now, more like a hurricane came through…

_**That Night...**_

Eventually the villagers led us to a set of rooms, one for each of us. Only problem? There's no beds… The more I learn about this world, the more I see parallels of Imperial Japan and Feudal China. Wonderful. I look to the wall seeing a beautiful pair of decorative katanas adorning it. I pull one down hopeful I can replace my beloved sword, the trident is great but it's too awkward for close quarters engagements. I frown at the unfamiliar and oddly uncomfortable weight. I go through a few of my basic positions I would use with Riptide, shaking my head at the flimsy feel of the shining steel. Maybe when I learn firebending I can forge my own sword.

I'm interrupted by a soft knock at the door frame, because you know curtains everywhere. I pull the curtain to the side to see a beautiful short haired brunette with bluish-grey eyes standing inches away from me, wait a second… I know that hair, and those eyes… Leader chick?

"Can I come in?" She asks in a quiet voice that I definitely didn't see coming.

"Uh, yeah, of course! Come in," I wave her in with the same tone of voice realizing that there are other people nearby and most likely sleeping now. I pick the sword up off the… does a mat count as a bed? Anyway, I hang it back on the wall only to see Leader chick's smirk.

"Just like all guys, I see, always going for the sword," she smiles gently and takes it herself, "I prefer this," she pulls a deadly looking war fan from her belt sprawling it out, "to a sword any day."

"I'm used to the sword, have been training with one since age twelve. But this isn't the style I'm used to, I prefer a blade heavier toward the front, double edged, and a bit shorter than this one is, but for now," I twist my ring and Barricade springs forward, "I use this to get by."

Her eyes widen at the sudden appearance of the spear before she nods in approval, "we'll have to have a match sometime."

"Wouldn't even be fair, you'd obviously kick my podex from here to Ba Sing Se and back again with those fans of yours," I grin and she laughs,

"You are most definitely a different creature than that other guy you came with," her face darkens momentarily, oh σκάτα Sokka… did you have to piss off the gorgeous warrior chick?

"He's different but the only girl around his age he's interacted with are his sister and you guys, any other women are the women of his tribe. He _is _the best warrior in his village because he's the _only _'warrior' in his village. He grew up thinking the men protected the women and children, and there are no men left in the southern water tribe," her face flashes with understanding but then hardens.

"The reason I'm here isn't to discuss him, who told you there are airbenders in the earth kingdom?" Why would she want to know this bit?

"Raava, the spirit of the avatar herself… she said the fire nation killed off all the air nomads, how long ago was that?" Her face flashes with utter confusion. It takes her a minute to get her wits about her, then she says,

"A hundred years," I nod in acknowledgement.

"Avatar Aang was trapped in ice for a hundred years then," her eyes widen, thankfully she's sitting next to me now or she probably would have fallen over.

"How is that possible?" she breathes out in a horrified mix of confusion and concern.

"The Avatar state, I already explained that's how he died but it wasn't until the ice was broken that he moved on. Originally, I wasn't from around here."

"What do you mean?"

"I was…" I scratch my chin for a second, "summoned, I think? By the Avatar Spirit to save the world, but to do that I need to learn Airbending. This island so far is the best hope I have for finding the Airbenders."

Throughout that little speech her face gave away nearly all of her emotions, guess the war paint does a good enough job for that day to day, but the deer in the headlights look says everything. She knows! Maybe I can finally learn how to get this bs mastered and move on to kicking Fire Lord tail. Those thoughts were quickly dashed though when she said: "No, I don't. I knew the airbenders still lived but I've only heard the rumors of their location. Sometimes it's Omashu, sometimes it's in a small village, other times I've heard they're deep in the heart of Ba Sing Se itself, safe from the war.

"Just a little over seventeen years ago, they came to this village. They stayed for about a year and then just left, we saw them once more after that," did she just shiver? I don't think about it for long since she immediately goes back to talking, "they don't stay in one place very long and they're near impossible to catch. They carry staffs that allow them to fly by catching the breeze underneath themselves, but the fire nation is either hot on their trail or unaware of their existence. I'd bet fire lord Ozai is attempting to take over the Earth Kingdom in a bid to hunt them down without the world knowing that his grandfather failed in his attempted genocide… Hopefully it's not worse," she looks over at me, "you would be going to the very heart of danger."

I grin wolfishly and say, "one little man who can shoot fire out of his ass is the least of my worries."

I reach up and place my hand on her shoulder, it doesn't stay there long. She takes my arm placing her fingers in mine. Well that was unexpected… but not as unexpected as her leaning forward to kiss my cheek.

"For luck," she stood up making for the door, "by the way, the name's Suki. I'll see you tomorrow, Avatar."

"My friends call me Percy," I say with a small smile. She smiles brightly before she walks from the room. Slowly her footsteps start to recede to silence, I go back to the mat on the floor sprawling out on it. Our next stop is Omashu, apparently. I would have packed and left then and there if I knew the storm coming to Kyoshi island…

_**Next Day...**_

I look at the plethora of odd foods on the table, not exactly sure what they are. Katara's not so sure about them either apparently, and obviously Sokka's salty about something.

"Sokka, eat. We leave today or tomorrow once we finish reprovisioning our ship," I pick up an orange piece and bite into it. Nearly choking on the overwhelming sweet flavor mixed with the tart of natural orange. I set that back down and reach for another, again choking on the highly sweet flavor. Did they… did they give us dessert for breakfast? I look at the man walking past the door, trying to catch his attention. We lock eyes and I beckon him in. "I'm sorry sir, but would it be too much trouble to bring us something simpler? We need our strength to prepare for our journey and fear that this will not last us long."

"Of course, Avatar! As you wish!" He hustles out of the room, Katara looks at me with slight humor in her eyes as I shake my head.

"This is really getting old. I'm the Avatar, not a god…" I whisper the last part to myself but Katara hears it, cocking an eyebrow at the term.

"What's a god?"

"Don't worry about it, they're an old myth from back home. The predecessors of the spirits if you will."

She nods as she processes this new information, but soon the guy comes back with steaming bowls of rice, fish, soup, an omelette, fresh vegetables and tall glasses of water. I look down at the food, pushing the fish to the side for now but dig into the rest with gusto. I eventually look at the fish, deciding I'll probably be eating a lot of it in the coming years. I take a bite of it and my eyes widen at the taste, soon all of the fish is gone from mine and Katara's plates while Sokka's still sulking in the corner.

"Sokka, if you eat, I'll teach you a little on how to fight." The water tribe boy looks up and over at me uttering one simple word.

"Promise?"

I smile and gesture to his plate, "yes, I do. Now eat you idiot. I get it, you were beaten up by a girl, happens to the best of us. Best knife fighter I ever had the pleasure of knowing was a knife fighter," my voice trails off thinking of Annabeth. I feel Katara's eyes and the confusion in them, I shake my head and look at Sokka again.

"The warriors of Kyoshi hold a four hundred year old tradition that they continually carry on: learn to fight, protect the homeland. If you want to learn from people how to fight, ask one of them -or all of them, doesn't really matter- and you'd be better for it. I'm actually going to see if they would be willing to teach me some of their tricks in a few minutes." I look over at Katara who seems oddly conflicted about that.

"I may tag along with you for that," he sounds strangely moved but unconvinced, well when they kick his tail from here to the fire capital I'll tell him I told you so. I stand up and head for the door,

"Katara, I'll meet up with you in a few hours to start restocking. Sound good? If I'm running late, you have full permission to drag me out of the training room," I wink at her, stepping out of the room as she blushes fire engine red.

I step outside and feel the sun on my face, the wind in my hair, the earth beneath my boots, and the sea breeze filling my nose. I smile at the sensations and walk toward the house that I'm pretty sure is the Kyoshi warrior training room. I climb the short flight of stairs and watch as they move through the Katas in precise, deadly moves. They keep up for about ten more minutes before Suki finally looks over at me and smiles through the war paint.

"Mind if I join in? The way you girls fight is absolutely incredible," I look Suki in the eye and smirk, "I'll even put on the dress if you make me."

The girls all laugh at this while I join their ranks.

"Today is hand weapon day, are you sure you want to join us? Oh great Avatar?" Suki asks sarcastically and I grin at her.

"Oh you know it, knives, fans, or swords?"

"Why limit yourself to just one skill?"

"I usually focus on one skill a day, one day it's my swordsmanship -or was until my sword broke- then I move on to spear work, then shield practice."

A new voice calls out as Suki opens her mouth to respond, "why would you practice with a shield?"

"Because a ten pound circle of metal impacting into someone's face is going to do some damage, even if they're in full armor. A sword may make a dent but a shield could snap their neck with a single punch. The spear is to keep people on their toes while the sword is used for overwhelmingly fast close quarters combat. The fan is used for redirection while the knife can be used for blistering speeds, and if sharp enough, disabling your opponent without them noticing they're injured. If an opponent can't walk because you cut his muscles, that's almost as good as removing a leg entirely."

Most of the girls nod their agreement and one says "let's see you fight then! No bending, just weapons and armor!" I shrug, slapping my wrist, pressing the button on my watch, and finally twisting my ring. Seconds later I'm decked out in full armor with shield and trident at the ready.

"Who's first?" None of the girls step forward, they're all top shocked to do anything, until Suki steps forward with her fans splayed out. Crouching into a fighting position she burst forward in toward me faster than anyone should be able to. I intercept her hit and launch the butt of my trident toward her liver, she deflects it and I bash her with the shield. Not hard enough to break anything but enough to knock her on her rear.

She looks up at me bewildered as clapping comes from behind us, I turn around and see Sokka standing there clapping while his eyes are the size of saucers.

"That was awesome!"

"No, she underestimated the shield. It's a huge piece of metal, and when used properly it's a devastating weapon along with a near impenetrable defense, now it's your turn," I bow to him extending my trident toward the girls in an obvious gesture. I turn around and reach a hand out to help Suki back to her feet. She accepts and smiles as her body pressed against mine.

"Come back anytime if you want more training Percy, I could use some training against an... overwhelming defense like that," she purred.

"I'll definitely consider it," taking a step back toward the door, I bow out while smirking at Suki before leaving the cabin. I walked down the island to the beach where we found the Unagi. My armor stowed and weapons hidden away.

I wade to knee deep in the water, I frown when I feel something not quite right in the water… the current is the same, a bit warmer than normal, but I can't shake the feeling that something horrible is about to happen.

An explosion fills the air seconds after I think that, I whirl around horrified to see forty balls of fiery death arcing down on the town for a second time. I run as hard as I can toward the town,

The Fire Nation has struck.


	3. Tartarus Accord

**AN… Well, I'm running out of ways and ideas to say that I'm broke and most of that's because I didn't get rich off of any of the wonderful content you recognize.**

**_Zuko I_**

We barely escaped the air temple, but to do it we had to leave the nonbender soldiers behind… Uncle hated it and so did I, even when they said they had no chance of getting down. Even the gliders we found wouldn't be much help to them unless they wanted to 'land' in the freezing sea. They were a hundred years old but thirty of them were thankfully still serviceable.

We had to use firebending to occasionally pick us back up but we let the gliders do most of the work. Unfortunately, four of the fire benders fell from the sky into the water when they couldn't hold onto the glider anymore. Eventually, we were able to glide to an island northeast of the temple one of us died on landing. Thankfully we were picked up by a fire nation ship and taken to the outpost on whale tail island due to the respect Uncle Iroh's old position afforded him.

We reached their destination in hours, a port on whale tail island.

"Prince Zuko, General Iroh," A large, bearded man calls out to us as we walk down the gangplank, he's not the man I wanted to see but he will do, "what brings you to my harbor? And where's your ship?"

"Captain Zhao," I say with grudging cordiality tempered by loss and exhaustion, after all, we're going to need help and this man can give it to us.

"Commander actually, while the Fire Lord's son and brother are welcome guests anytime, perhaps an explanation for why you are here is on order?"

"The reason we are here and don't have a ship is one and the same. Perhaps we should take this to a more private setting?"

Uncle nods his head too, a grim look coming over his face. Zhao looks surprised but nods and gestures, "I was going to ask you to join me for a drink, but a drink and a story makes for a much more enjoyable evening."

"You'll be needing the strongest whiskey you have for this story, commander. This is not a tale of sea storms and monsters. There is only one monster in this story, maybe two, but as for the second I remain unsure…" Uncle says in a quiet tone, "This could be the end of the fire nation as we know it."

Zhao's eyes widen and then his face slackens back to the smirk he normally wears, "General Iroh, certainly it's not that bad? You are many years out of service, if the water tribes or earth kingdom has created a weapon then we can counter it, recreate it, and then perfect it."

Iroh's face just darkens further "You can not recreate nor perfect this, commander," he responds and falls silent as we walk inside the massive command tent.

Zhao sits down across from us as servants bring in the drinks, uncle waves one over and asks for the strongest spirit on the bases. The servant hustles out as we sit in silence. Zhao finally asks the obvious question.

"What happened?"

Iroh remains silent and I take his cue, waiting on the servant to return. Minutes later, he comes back with a bottle and three glasses. He fills them all, Iroh immediately lifts his and drains it pouring himself a second before I even taste mine. I bring it to my lips, taking a sip. I wrinkle my nose at the foul taste but take it all in one go like Uncle did moments earlier. Immediately I feel the burning liquid run down my throat, I cough as steam comes out of my ears and fire erupts from my throat.

"Prince Zuko, you must be careful with fire whiskey. It is a potent drink but far more effective than calming tea," he looks up at Zhao, "this is your story to tell, nephew."

Zhao's eyes narrow at the familial reference Iroh wouldn't normally use outside of private quarters. I clear my throat looking Zhao in the eyes,

"The Avatar is alive, he's not an airbender. He's a water tribe member, but not dressed or armed as any I've ever seen. I was about to duel him but he completely encased me in ice, and the rest of the fire benders I brought with me into the southern water tribe village."

"Why didn't you escape?" Zhao asks with a hint of derision and a bit of concern, all tempered by natural arrogance that only a fire nation commander could possess.

"We couldn't," Uncle asks, and Zhao looks utterly confused, "increasing our body temperature did nothing, fire bending under the ice did nothing, I tried fire breathing on the ice's surface and it didn't do so much as steam. He's such a powerful waterbender that he can force ice to stay that way even under my most intense fire, I've never seen anything like it…"

"He stole our ship right out from under our noses. Locked me and Uncle in our own quarters but quarantined the troops and firebenders to the bunks. Didn't bother locking the doors, just put a wall of ice up we couldn't melt. I haven't even heard of such raw power and control in the stories of the avatars."

Zhao's eyes narrow at that statement but is interrupted as a man comes in through the tent flap, "sir we've interrogated the rest of the firebenders, as you ordered, the avatar was the one who captured them and left them to die at the southern air temple."

His eyes widened at that, "I thought this was just an elaborate story… if we go to the southern air temple, we'll find the rest of your crew?"

"At least their corpses, assuming you can get up the sheer cliffs of the air temples. They refused to let the firebenders stay or I would have myself. They told us to go get the man that left them, to avenge them," Uncle sounds conflicted at that statement… why? The Avatar left us to die!

"I propose a truce, commander. I heard the avatar say his next stop was Kyoshi Island, if he's not there now then he will be approaching soon. We'll need every ship we can muster against him if we want to have a chance of beating him at sea. Will you help us?" Agni please don't let me regret this…

"You have a deal, Prince Zuko. You, your uncle, and your firebenders will sail with me. I have command of thirty ships, including my own, with complements consisting of one hundred and eighty soldiers, sixty firebenders, and twelve rhinos. My ship has a complement of two hundred and forty soldiers, eighty fire benders, and sixteen rhinos. With two mangonels per ship that brings our artillery up to sixty catapults max. I propose we use thirty-eight of these mangonels while ten ships land on the beach with our own observing the engagement, Iroh - what say you?"

"A good plan, but we must remember: our opponent is a powerful waterbender. What are the ranges on those catapults?"

"Almost a thousand yards."

"We may need every single inch," Iroh remarked off handedly and Zhao gawked at him.

"What kind of waterbender is so powerful that a thousand yards away from him isn't safe?"

"The Avatar, Zhao. Remember the stories of the avatars of old, one could force a volcano to erupt before it's time, Avatar Roku almost defeated a volcano by himself at the end of his life! And let's not forget Avatar Kyoshi used airbending in tandem with Earthbending to separate what we know as Kyoshi Island from the Earth kingdom. The avatar is the spirit of the impossible, and he's currently residing on shores that bear proof of this. Tell me, commander, would you prefer me to underestimate a foe potentially as powerful as the avatars of old? To be surprised by him in the future when he summons something so powerful not even the collective might of the fire nation could match it? Or would you prefer to overestimate this enemy and have less of a chance at being nastily so you could possibly live to see another day? We can only hope this is not an enemy so powerful that he can do the unimaginable."

Zhao and I both blink owlishly at Iroh's little speech, but he makes sense…

"Then we strike hard and we strike fast, then we pray to Agni that we reincarnated the Avatar to the Earth Kingdom in the first strike, but first," he turns to a servant, "send word to Caldera City, tell the Fire Lord the Prince has located the Avatar."

"Right away, sir!" he dashes from the room and Iroh sighs in defeat.

"I never wanted to go to battle against the avatar," the old man says in a tired voice, "he's a powerful opponent when his rage is unleashed... He has mastered waterbending to where he doesn't have to move for the water to obey him. We have no idea about his training in earth and fire, air he must master on his own… unless grandfather was not completely successful in his conquest against the air nomads, if he finds a fully trained airbender that can teach him it would spell our doom."

Both my eyes and Zhao's are wide at the blatant treason in his words but Zhao nods his head thoughtfully.

"You are right, no man in his right mind would want to face down the Avatar… but it's our duty to do so."

"You are correct, but if the Avatar is not killed in the first strike I fear we may awaken the anger of the sea itself…"

"Then we have an accord?" the commander extends his hand.

I look over at Uncle, he nods his head. I take the commanders hand in a firm shake.

"We sail in three days, prepare yourselves. You will have quarters prepared for you and the survivors, goodnight General, goodnight my Prince. Tomorrow we will discuss the invasion strategy and the Avatar's potential weaknesses." Zhao walks out the door as two servants come in to escort us to our quarters. I see the anxiety in the face of my firebenders as we pass them.

"Prince Zuko!" Lieutenant Jee calls out, "what news?"

"We sail for Kyoshi Island at dawn with commander Zhao in three days' time, prepare yourselves. We're going after the Avatar."

**Next Morning…**

"So we are agreed to treat this threat on the level of the butcher Kyoshi?" Zhao asks the room.

"That's correct, commander Zhao," Uncle says as he taps the image of Kyoshi on the map on the table, "it will take us most of the day to sail to Kyoshi, how many will be in the landing force?"

"By all accounts," a lieutenant with a scroll in front of his face says, "the Island of Kyoshi has a small garrison of female warriors, not more than a hundred and no less than fifty. I would recommend commiting ten ships to the frontal assault and leaving the final twenty to artillery strikes."

"I would advise against the destruction of the village," I say looking over some of our reports, "the island makes up for nearly a quarter of this station's rations, even more than high command ships in from the homeland," my eyes meet Zhao's and he looks distinctly uncomfortable.

"The situation in the Earth Kingdom is not as stable as High Command would like you to believe, my Prince," Zhao says.

"Explain," Iroh nearly growls.

"High Command is diverting all of our resources for a future siege of Omashu. With the Northern Water Tribe staying out of the war and the Southern Pirates raiding our shores, the Western and Eastern fleets are being bolstered while the Southern and Northern fleets are being drained. The Pohuai Stronghold was recently seized, the Yu-Yan archers have taken the fort as their own under the command of Colonel Shinu. Resources are being diverted to crush the Earth Kingdom rebellions, Kyoshi Island is better used as a trading post instead of a military asset." Zhao said.

"But now it's in rebellion, Commander," a captain at the table said.

"Aye, now they're in rebellion… yet we still need them, the men still need them. Those Whale-Koi alone are enough reason for them to be spared," Zhao said, "although, they will be crushed if need be, understood?"

"Aye, commander!"

"Excellent, as you were!" Zhao snaps a salute that the rest of the men in the tent return before filing out, "Prince Zuko, General Iroh… this invasion is going to be hard. You understand that, correct?"

"Aye, as a general rule amphibious assaults are bloody… I would like to spare the village at any rate though," Iroh says.

"On that, we are agreed," Zhao said.

_**Day of the Assault...**_

_**With Fire Lord Ozai…**_

'_What does this fool want?'_ A messenger comes running in from the doors, falling to his face in front of me.

"Your Grace, I bring news from commander Zhao."

'_Zhao… oh yes, the bumbling buffoon I appointed after his commander died of a "tragic accident," what a pity it was… hmm, what does he expect is so important to bring before me?'_

"Continue."

"Yes, my lord, he says your son has located the Avatar," what? The pathetic excuse of a boy actually _found _the avatar? "He has reported that the boy is a water tribe member, no older than sixteen to seventeen summers and incredibly powerful with waterbending. He took Prince Zuko, General Iroh, and their entire crew prisoner with impunity, my lord. The reports say he was able to contain their firebending…"

I blink twice, '_what waterbender is powerful enough to stop not only twenty firebenders but one being my own son and the other being the Dragon of the West? Not only stop but keep them prisoner?'_

"How did they escape?"

"They did not, the waterbender set them free…"

"Typical waterbender, always concerned for human life," but the servant's breathing nearly stopped, what isn't he telling me?

"My lord, he freed them at the southern air temple. The fire benders were able to escape by using antique air nomad relics, gliders I believe they are called, and using their fire bending to propel themselves to a small island where a warship found them. The soldiers could not escape and are believed dead at this time." I blink, that was unexpected...

"How did a waterbender manage to get them up there?" I ask with a dangerous edge to my voice.

"A flying bison, sir," He says it in a whisper but I hear it and the flames surrounding me rocket to the ceiling.

"How is that possible!? The air nomads were defeated by my grandfather Sozin a century ago! Flying bisons, by all historical counts, are massive beasts that are not hard to miss! So tell me, how. Did. We. MISS THEM!?" Lightning dances off my fingers as my rage boils over.

"I don't know, my lord, please… Spare me…" he whimpers out, and I force myself calm not noticing the shadow slipping out a hidden side door.

"Send word to Commander Zhao, I want the Avatar and my son brought before me. The Prince and my brother deserve to be repatriated after doing our nation such a service as finding the Avatar."

"Sir, commander Zhao moves on Kyoshi Island as we speak. He intended to set sail at dawn, I came as fast as I could when I received the message, he has given orders to the full Southern fleet garrisoned at Whale Tail depot to set sail with all thirty vessels. The invasion force is to be composed of over eighteen hundred firebenders and fifty-five thousand marines. I shall send messages to every port within close proximity of his location in case the Avatar should do the impossible, my Lord."

"Do that, leave me."

The messenger bows deeper and rises to his feet nearly running from the audience chamber.

'_Boy, what have you gotten yourself into?'_

_**With Zuko…**_

_**Same Time…**_

We approach the island but to my, my uncle's, and my firebenders' horror, fishing boats are shot out of the sea by the catapults mounted on board. Fishermen killed in cold blood because they may make it to the island before us. Iroh's face is as grim as my own when Zhao gives the order to fire again. A horn rings out and a ball of fire is launched skyward ten seconds later.

The stone impacts against the small wooden boat, we sail past splinters minutes later. I shake my head in disgust, taking off my helmet in respect of the fishermen. My firebenders follow my example as Uncle nods his approval.

"My prince, what are you doing?" Zhao's arrogant voice cuts through the silence.

"Respecting those fallen in battle, commander."

"Acknowledging filth more like it."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, commander, but doesn't your base heavily rely on fishing villages to feed your troops? Or is all your food imported from the homeland? Oh… we discussed this _two days ago, _did we not? When we agreed that _this village alone, _produces a quarter of your rations back at the depot!" I seeth at the arrogant man.

Zhao simply sneers and walks away but makes no more arguments.

Kyoshi Island finally comes into view and I feel my stomach clench, why did I agree to this?

"Aim the artillery! Set for a thousand yards!" A series of flags are waved from the stern of the ship, indicating what the commander said. The ten landing ships charge ahead as we put the ships down at a thousand yards. The nineteen artillery ships and command vessels standing their ground while the ten landing ships charge forward to the island. Zhao gives the command for the first artillery volley to be fired and I watch in horror mixed with grim satisfaction.

We watch as the corps of Marines march forward attempting to get away from the sea as fast as they can, good. They know the target's a prodigal water bender. That's all well and good until blurs of green, brown, black, bronze and gold start flying around the soldiers, taking them and the rhino riders out. Shortly thereafter, a shadow with a spear charges in from the south. He goes after the firebenders that are burning the town down building by building looking for him. That's when the most confusing part of the day happens, the firebenders stop bending.

"Zhao! What is the meaning of this! We agreed the village was to be spared!" Uncle says to the commander beside him.

"They are traitors, General. Harboring the avatar when he's a known fugitive from the fire nation? This village deserves to burn down."

"How can they be a traitor when they're part of a kingdom we're at war with? The term for that isn't harboring a fugitive, it's asylum. The Avatar is only hunted in the fire nation, the Earth Kingdom is an enemy of the Fire Nation of course they won't turn him over to us! But this village is profitable as a trading post _for _the fire nation, and the earth kingdom, and the southern water tribe, what good would burning this village down do us when it's one of the _three _towns that freely trade with us?"

Zhao's face tightens in a sneer, "Believe it or not, my Prince, I didn't order the burning of the village."

"But you did not order against it," Iroh says in a dark tone.

"No, I suppose I didn't."

"I only have one question," I turn from the village to face the two men, "where did that storm come from?"

The two whip their heads around to the huge thunderclouds surrounding Kyoshi Island, lightning and wind whipping through the village but more importantly throwing our firebenders off their feet. Those unlucky enough to get hit by lightning dying instantly, their firebending completely negated.

Iroh's jaw tenses but our esteemed commander just screams out "Impossible!" in fascination mixed with terror.

"Remember what I told you last night, Zhao, we are facing an enemy who routinely does the impossible," Uncle says with a panicky edge to his voice.

The storm rages for what feels like hours before clearing out, we can only watch the carnage unfold.

"Zhao," Uncle turns to the man before hesitantly saying "we must retreat," the commander reluctantly nods in agreement, fear evident on his face.

"We can't retreat! The Avatar is right there!" I cry out, I can't let him slip through my fingers like this, not again!

"Prince Zuko!"

"General, allow me," The commander looks at me with terror in his eyes and fear etched in his face, "If we don't retreat now then we will _all die! _Do you want to be the one the to report to the fire lord that we lost six hundred firebender, nearly two thousand foot soldiers, and more than three hundred rhinos! Do you want to tell him we didn't at least order a retreat before we lost another _twelve hundred firebenders_, thirty six _hundred _foot soldiers, a commander of the fire navy, _his own son _and brother?! That thing," he points a finger to the island, "is the most devastating Avatar since Kyoshi the Butcher! And he's apparently not afraid to kill, so we retreat while we have a chance or die fighting a monster that can't be stopped!"

"He's right, Prince Zuko," Uncle says quietly, "I do not wish to stir the wrath of the fire lord any further than what it will be after this loss today, for that is what this is."

I grit my teeth and hang my head, reluctantly nodding to uncle as Zhao orders the general retreat. We slip behind the rest of the fire nation ships back to base. A few minutes later, I turn around to look once more at Kyoshi Island only for my eyes to widen in horror.

"Uncle! Commander! The rest of the fleet is in trouble!"

"What!" Zhao screams in frustration.

"They're pulling full steam but still are being dragged back to the Island."

"By the spirits," Uncle Iroh whispers, "he let us go, he knew this was the command vessel that would report back to the fire lord. This is a challenge to Ozai himself…"

With a great ripping sound, the other nineteen ships are ripped rivet from rivet as ice explodes through them.

"How is this possible?" My eyes widen in horror at the grisly scene before us, I breathe out the question to my uncle in a whisper only he hears. Zhao is busy screaming orders to get the ship moving as fast as it can and then calls a rather interesting order, "Forty firebenders to Stern!"

When they get there Zhao calls, "full blast in three… two… one… loose!" The ship jerks violently under our feet, racing away from the island faster than any ship I've ever set foot on.

"The Avatar has returned, nephew, and he's not an airbender that wants peace. This is a warrior that has lost much, he will destroy the fire nation stone by stone to end this war if he has to. Make no doubt, he has the power to do this," uncle's eyes are closed as tears stream down his face, "I have never thought for a second we may be on the wrong side of this war, Zuko, but with an Avatar like that, the fire nation will lose this war."

My jaw clenches at uncle's words, "how can I capture him then?"

"Alone? You cannot. You would have to capture people close to him and force him to surrender. But returning him to the fire nation would prove difficult. He has proven he can control the sea itself, tell me, how would you return home if he can control the water without seeing it?"

My eyes widen in realization, "I'd have to kill him…"

"Yes, you would. You are no killer Prince Zuko, this mission to capture the avatar is no longer feasible. It's time to start asking the big questions, who are you?" He touches my chest, "And what do you want?" He touches my forehead, "only you can answer these questions, my nephew. Is your destiny to serve your father? Or is it something different?"

His golden eyes meet mine and I close them as tears roll down my face…

_**Later…**_

_**Whale Tail Harbor…**_

We arrive back at the harbor in the dead of night, but that doesn't deter a messenger running to the ship like his life depends on it.

"Commander Zhao! Prince Zuko! General Iroh! A message from the capital, the Fire Lord requests the presence of his brother and lifts his son's banishment!"

Zhao replies to the messenger, "have this ship prepared, I fear we have to bring the Fire Lord news that could change the course of the war," turning to us he says, "Gentlemen, it looks like we're returning home. Congratulations, my Prince."

I'm not sure why my stomach feels like it just emptied to a void but by the look on Iroh's face, he feels the same way. The tone of the commander's voice makes my stomach twist, his words are congratulatory but the tone is as dark as the clouded night sky above us.

Nothing good is going to come of this reunion.


	4. Aftermath

**AN: *sighs knowing what I have to say but most definitely don't want to* I solemnly swear I wish I owned any of this wonderful content.**

**_Percy III_**

I rush to the village as fast as I can, I may be fast but I'm not fast enough. The firebenders arrived first. Half of the village was already ablaze before I even arrived. The girls fight tooth and nail as I come blazing in.

There were too many soldiers, too many firebenders for them to handle alone… I slap my wrist, press my watch dial, and twist my ring.

I threw Barricade into the chest of the colonel leading the entire regiment of fire nation troops, killing him instantly. He drops and the four captains under him all give different orders to the entire army. The fire nation troops fall to chaos, turning their attention to the Kyoshi warriors that have been killing troops left and right.

It's not enough.

A firebender launches a ball of flame at a Kyoshi warrior, her fan flashes through the air forcing the fire to die as it rockets skyward. Pikes flash in fire nation hands, a sword cuts through it the next beat. A knife bites into a firebenders neck. A fan drops another fire bender like a ragdoll.

Even as they slaughter the invaders by the dozen, Kyoshi warriors still fall. One catches a spear to the chest, another to a blast of fire to the face, one's head stares up in horror as she watches her own body fall…

It's awful, gruesome, horrifying, and there are so many other words to describe the hellish scene before me. When I see Suki nearly catch a ball of fire to the chest, I nearly lose it. Thankfully, with a slash of her fan, the massive fireball splits around her, dissipating harmlessly into the air behind her.

I focus on the air currents, supercharging the air around the island. I form a cyclone to throw the firebenders off balance with the added bonus of also misdirecting their firebending. Lightning menacingly starts crackling in the clouds swirling around us.

Lightning flashes around the firebenders who look up at me nervously, the battlefield falling ominously silent.

I break the silence with a single word.

"Die."

Lightning crashes down around the soldiers like an omen of death, arcing from soldier to soldier with a clap of thunder. The electricity axes through them like a scythe through wheat. The lightning instantly killed six hundred firebenders, the electricity passing through their brains and hearts due to the metal faceplates and thick chest armor with only a handful of soldiers surviving the barrage.

I let the storm die out as the girls start taking out the handful of remaining fire nation troops one by one.

"Girls, we can take out the trash later. For now, we have bigger fish to fry," I look out to sea and they follow my gaze. A single fire nation ship is already turning away, making heading for their home base. "What do you think? Slay nineteen and let one slip away to relay a message?"

"NO!" Katara's voice calls out through the chaos, "No one else dies today!"

"Katara," Suki of all people calls out, walking to the disturbed girl and wrapping her arms around her, whispering something to her that no one else can hear but Katara eventually calms down and slumps into Suki's arms. Suki turns around to look at me, her eyes widening instantly.

She pulls out her fan and slams it down, a blast of air blazing past me.

My eyes widen and jaw drops, I whip around and see the five soldiers flying through the air. I wrap the water in the air around them, crushing them.

"Suki, you have some explaining to do later, but for now the rest of those ships are going to get away if we don't act. But they're going to pay."

She nods and calls for the girls to form up. Together we march to the beach watching as the lead ship slips behind the ranks. I step out into the water, feeling the currents around my knees.

I focus on the water, pulling the ships back toward shore, into shallow water close to shore. This forcibly buries their keels into the soft sand underneath, trapping them.

They attempted to pull full steam away from the island but were still dragged toward me, the problem for them was that I'm not any random water bender. I'm the son of the Sea God and they tried to kill my friends, and now they're trapped.

I see the command ship pull even more steam, and will water into every rivet, every gap possible into the rest of the trapped ships. I freeze the water in the gaps, expanding them and ripping the boats apart. I freeze the water to the sand underneath the ships, leaving a spike of ice and steel the only thing remaining of the ships.

Seconds later a wall of flame rips from the back of the command ship. I blink twice at the spectacle, _'Well, didn't expect to see a rocket ship here…'_

I turn to Suki before gently asking: "Was the Airbender your mother or father?"

"My father," she looks at the ground and I walk up to her, cupping her chin to lock our eyes together. I see the tears glistening there, threatening to fall.

"I'm not mad at you, I understand. One day, one day you'll know my full story and you'll see how I do. I won't ask you to leave your home, but I will be back for a teacher one day." She smiles sadly but still she slowly leans forward, her eyes sliding closed. I place my hand on the center of her chest, holding her back. Her eyes snap open and blue-gray meet sea green, the heat from her cheeks actually radiating off where I can feel it.

"I.. I'm sorry…" she whispers. I kiss her forehead, whispering,

"No, don't be sorry. Is this what you really want?" _'Annabeth's gone, Jackson. She wouldn't want you hung up over her forever. Live…'_

She nods gingerly, her eyes never leaving mine. She leans forward again, just as slowly as the last time but this time I don't move as her lips brush against mine. I kiss her back hesitantly for a moment before she pulls back, a small smile gracing her face even as the water tribe's last hurricane thunders directly toward us.

"How could you!" Katara screams at me, "you killed all of those people and now you're just going to sit here and kiss her?!"

"They almost destroyed this village," I reply in a deadly calm voice, never taking my eyes off Suki, "they killed innocent people, and would have captured and killed us if they could have! And she kissed me..." I pause for a beat to get myself under control, my eyes moving over to the last southern water bender, "Katara, I couldn't let them hurt you, Sokka, Suki, or any of these people. I hope you can understand that."

"We did what we had to do to protect this town, protect our own lives. If you can't tell, we're airbenders. Most of the warriors of Kyoshi are, but there are fewer and fewer gifted as each year passes. This is the most there have ever been thanks to a group of airbenders that visit this island for a few days scattered throughout the years, we haven't seen them in ten years and it was considered one of the darkest times in the island's history. They call themselves the raiders instead of nomads now, but they're thieves, reavers, and rapists..."

My eyes widen at the information, I gather Suki in my arms as she starts to break down. Her tears cutting through the white paint smeared with crimson, as she held onto me for dear life. I look up at Katara who apparently has started piecing things together, her hands clap over her mouth in horror.

"We started training to fight like those that came before us, so they would never do this to our village again," the shaking girl cries into my shoulder, "they failed… I managed to hide but the older girls died fighting them off if they didn't have the gift… If they did," the girl shudders in horror, "they screamed and fought for the men to stop while the women with the raiders looked on and laughed, some even joined in… Our men could do nothing, all but seven were dead. They always leave seven men alive and butcher the rest, I don't know why," she sobs even harder at the horrible memories cutting through her mind, "I… I've heard stories that the fi- fire nation is worse to the small villages than even the raiders… They don't only rape and kill, but they destroy entire villages, burn all the food and laugh at the savages." Tears cut through her war paint as she looks over at Katara with hate in her eyes. The water tribe girl takes a step back at the pure hatred in the warrior's eyes.

I squeeze her tighter to me and she flinches slightly, my eyes widen in horror, I open my mouth to ask her the most horrifying question I've ever thought. Thankfully she cut me off "no, Percy, I was one of the lucky ones, I was never found," she whispers. I sigh in relief, rubbing circles over her back.

"We'll find them. We'll bring them down. And we'll destroy the fire nation stone by stone."

She pulls back slightly, her eyes meeting mine. Fury, hate, and hope all swirling within the steel blue,

"Don't you dare lie to me." She says in a small voice that does not go with the emotions flashing in her eyes.

"I'm not."

"I'm coming with you, you need an air bending master and these monsters need to be brought down. I want to help with that."

"Welcome aboa-" I don't get to finish my sentence as her lips crash against mine for the second time in minutes. Katara clears her throat and Suki backs off almost unwillingly.

"Well then love birds, let's go. And have you seen my brother anywhere?"

"I'm right here Katara," Sokka calls out from the direction of town, "I was on the," he bends over and starts panting heavily, "other side of the island when," again heavily breathing, "the fire nation attacked. What'd I miss?" He looks over my shoulder and his eyes widen, "nevermind…"

"Sokka, we're leaving. Now. We've brought enough ruin to this Island. We're headed to Omashu, immediately."

He nods and runs toward where Appa is standing on the beach, having followed us from the chaos.

We all climb into the saddle on Appa's back. With a call of yip yip Appa rockets skyward.

"Next stop, Omashu..."

I look at the sun sitting high in the sky, aiming us North.

_**Later…**_

_The flight to Omashu is going to be a long one… _I think wearly, looking at the maps I found in Aang's saddlepack. Not that it mattered because eventually, Suki took up residence in my lap. Stripped of the heavy paint and armor, leaving a gorgeous girl in a tunic and leggings. _'Honestly, if she stays in my lap any longer, I'm going to an expert on every _curve _and swell.._. _then again so will she. And honestly, this girl's more free spirited than the Stoll twins combined, stronger willed than Annabeth, and a better fighter than half of Ares Cabin could even think about being. But that doesn't matter now does it? We've been flying for hours, we're going to need to land soon to at least let Appa get some rest and maybe Suki can try to teach me some air bending. But wasn't there a cycle I was supposed to follow?'_

A voice whispers through my mind, masculine and distinctly not Aang… _"Young Demigod, the cycle to learn the elements is naught to you. For you have already mastered water to a degree that makes even the gifted of us shiver. You shake the Earth without a spare thought, you create storms by your command, and you have nearly mastered generating cold blooded fire, but this must be done within yourself. Good luck, Avatar."_

I nod as my eyes widen in shock, '_well looks like I can get her to teach me after all…'_

"Percy? You okay?" _Speak of the devil…_

"I'm fine, Suki, Avatar stuff. But I need to bring Appa down, he's getting a bit sluggish… And while we're down there do you think you could teach me some airbending?"

Her face brightens and she turns around in my lap, her legs straddling my own, "I think I could do that," she smirks and kisses my nose.

"Ugh, get a room lovebirds!" Sokka calls out as he looks over the edge to the sea.

I chuckle and call out to Appa to take us down, he responds immediately. And soon we're touching down on the edge of the trees and sand. We roll out sleeping bags and realize one very important thing, Suki doesn't have one.

"It's okay," she says, "I've slept on worse."

"No," I gesture to my large sleeping bag, "You take mine, I can find a comfortable branch if I have to. As it is, I have to go visit the trees for a second, go ahead and take it."

"No, I'm not taking your sleeping bag." She steps right under my nose and Katara and Sokka chuckle at the scene playing out before them, a tiny airbender trying to intimidate the Avatar? Who'd have thought? That's when the determination fades only to be replaced by the same playfulness that filled those two blue-gray orbs when she sat on my lap the whole way here. "Why not share it?"

"If you're gonna share, go over there!" Sokka calls out pointing with his boomerang that he's sharpening and oiling, "I don't want to see any of it!"

"Oh shut up Sokka, we'll find Suki a sleeping bag in Omashu. If they have to share for now, so be it." Katara calls across camp to her brother in an imperious bark. Suki's face falls a little at the idea but she quickly regains her composure.

"I can live with that," she says while unrolling the furs. Her arms wrap around me as my hands rests on the small of her back. Soft lips met mine before she laid down in the furs as I jogged over to the woods for a quick visit. I hear her chuckles even as I come back to the camp. I clamber into the furs behind her, wrapping my arms around her middle - much to her delight - as she wiggles into me.

"Oh, did you forget to take your dagger off Percy?" she sing-songs quietly much to my embarrassment. I don't answer only squeezing her toned middle tighter for a beat to get a little laugh out of her.

_**The next day… **_

_**Gates of Omashu...**_

Within a day we arrive at the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu. Sokka sat sharpening his boomerang on Appa's head while steering the bison, Katara tried her best to waterbend with what little true water she had, and Suki sat in my lap and "slept" since we took off from that clearing. .

She slept better than I did last night, so I'm not convinced she's really sleeping.

Gotta say though, when she woke up the glance over her shoulder with the little smirk she gave nearly made me bend fire through my ears and the kiss she gave me after almost succeeding in that endeavor definitely succeeded in curling my toes.

Eventually, though, we made it to the city. We had to have Appa land about a quarter-mile away so we, and more importantly he, wouldn't be spotted. We went on foot for the rest of the journey. Arriving at the gate, the guard was busy yelling at a man for his rotten cabbages. The guard uses his Earthbending and tosses the cabbage cart into the chasm.

The man who's cabbages were just thrown into the abyss walks away hurling insults as we stand there waiting.

"My cabbages!" The vendor squealed as the cart went flying, the man fell to his knees. Eventually he stands up, glares at the guards and then marches down the bridge back toward truly solid land. We take his place and stop before the guards.

"State your business," left guard.

"We're refugees, looking for an audience with your king."

"Refugees? From where?" Right guard.

"Kyoshi Island."

Left guard laughs and then the right guard does too but their faces immediately morph to shock as their eyes land on Suki in combination with our faces not changing.

"Kyoshi Island was attacked by a full armada of fire nation ships, there are no more permanent buildings and hundreds are dead. We were passing through when the attack happened, we've lost all our goods to trade. So, I ask again. May we receive an audience with the king?"

"Yes," the left guard says immediately, "these men will take you to king Bumi straight away."

Why does that name sound familiar? Cue memories flashing of sliding down chutes with a crazy haired kid. Aang's memories I presume, this man is going to be absolutely ancient if this is the same Bumi.

Suki leans into me as we walk through the streets of Omashu, toward the palace.

We arrive and are directed to a throne room.

'_I was right, that man is positively ancient.'_

"King Bumi?"

"Yes?" The wizened man says in a curious tone as he looks down on the, admittedly odd, group of teenagers standing before his throne.

"I am Perseus, and I am the Avatar. From what I remember from speaking with Avatar Aang, you were friends in your youth, is that correct?"

The king of Omashu's jaw slackens as his posture slumps even more. His hand coming to his face.

"So he was the Avatar after all… I didn't know, I assumed he was but I was never sure. How did the fire nation get to him?"

"They did not. Avatar Aang was killed by an even more destructive force, nature itself. Aang was running from his destiny, he did what all air nomads did best: evaded. He did not want the responsibilities of the Avatar, he wanted to be a free little airbender. It cost him his life," Bumi's face hardens at the harsh words directed against his friend but I'm not finished yet.

"It's what made me, a water bender, into the spirit of the world."

Shock etches onto Bumi's wrinkled face as both his wild mismatched eyes widen, "made you into the Avatar?"

"Aang died in the Avatar state. I was… summoned by the Avatar spirit if you would, King Bumi. A horrible coincidence had me become the Avatar, my king. I am sorry for your loss."

The king waves his hand in a clear dismissal as he stares down at the floor, his head between his hands.

"Thank you for your time, we will be leaving Omashu in the morning. If there is anything you would like to know before we leave, it would be an honor to assist you."

With a half bow, I turned and walked toward the door. I brush against Suki, thank the gods she's a sharp one as she immediately fell into step beside me. As we leave the throne room, her fingers find mine, interlocking in a gesture of solidarity.

I smile gently at the feeling, remembering back to this morning…

A cough gains my attention and I see the captain of the guard standing there with his face hard as the element he commands.

"Avatar, we have been suggested by the king to offer you lodging for the night. If you will follow us."

I nod and follow the man as he leads us down a labyrinth of halls until we come to a pair of rooms adjacent to one another.

"If you would like, one room can be for the women and the other for the men, or if you would prefer another arrangement we will not stop you. Good day, Avatar," the man raises his palm and fist bringing them together in front of his chest with a small bow. Suki and I repeat the gesture simultaneously as Katara and Sokka look on in complete confusion. The guards nod and don't bother with walking away. They all line up on the stone wall and disappear into the earth work.

I walk to the door on the right and look at Suki and then over at Sokka. Before any words are spoken, Suki steps through the door next with a sultry smirk.

"You sir, need to learn airbending," she taps my nose, "and I'll give you a few lessons right now."

I grin and gesture to the door while Sokka and Katara say nothing when heading to their room for the night.

Suki sits down on the bed, taking off her armor. Leaving only her tunic and trousers.

"Time for your first lesson, Percy, shall we begin?"

I grin and sit next to her, she turns top face me and I face her, both of us sitting lotus style with our knees touching. Suki cups her hands and brings them together, forming a small ball of air between her palms.

"Air, the element of freedom. Air does not like to be restrained, and air will go where it wishes. To command air is to fail," she says seriously as her eyes meet mine, "but when you start to guide the air, then you will succeed. Feel the pull in your chest, and breathe."

I close my eyes and breathe in deeply before breathing out, I feel something slowly begin to circulate inside me. Almost a push and pull but more free?

The circulation increases as this thought comes to me, I feel the air I breathe out increase in pressure. My hands move almost of their own accord. Opening my eyes I see Suki's wide eyes and blue wind spinning in my hands.

With a thought I compress the air and bring more to it, immediately it grows to the size of a baseball with the intensity of a tornado compressed inside it.

I turn and throw the ball at a tapestry on the wall and watch as it explodes from the sheer amount of force from the air grenade.

"Percy, what was that?" Suki asks in an awed voice.

"A technique I'm going to teach you when we get on the road tomorrow."

Eyes still wide she nods but soon it becomes a smirk and she climbs into my lap again, my back pressed against the wall and her into my chest.

"Well then, Mr. Avatar," she breathes the last two words into my ear huskily before she pulls back to let her forehead rest on mine with her hips starting to grind into me, "I believe that a success of that magnitude deserves a reward," her lips brush against mine and the deeds we did the rest of that night are best left unsaid.


	5. The White Winds Blow

**AN: Okay first of all, some of you may or may not hate me for this chapter alone. I own none of this wonderful content.**

**_Zuko III_**

After two long years, I'm finally returning to the fire nation.

A failure.

The Avatar was in my fingers and he slipped through again. He was too strong for me to defeat him on my own, even Uncle practically called it a lost cause.

Our ship cruises smoothly into the harbor of the fire capital and I've never been more nervous.

"Welcome home, Prince Zuko." Commander Zhao bows to me in a slightly mocking fashion.

"Stand up commander," he rises and sees the tension in mine and Uncle's faces. Our ship docks to a battalion of heavily armored fire benders, the royal guard themselves. I swallow thickly seeing the honor guard, hope rising in my chest. The gangplank falls as a team with a litter marches up. An unmasked firebender in the lead.

The firebender steps forward, a marked officer from the lack of faceplate. He steps towards me and Uncle Iroh, his face more unreadable than the masks that strike terror into enemies of the fire nation.

"Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai. Iroh, former General, son of Fire Lord Azulon. I am Commander Tavrok, the Fire Lord has ordered that you are to come with us, your litter awaits." The man gestures to the large, oddly shaped litter. It's longer than normal, a pair of men could comfortably lay down in it.

Uncle tenses up drastically at the order and the litter, I'm not exactly comfortable with it myself. The man addresses us as equals, if not subordinates. A title in the fire nation is revered and by calling us by our father's names with those titles…

By this point there's nothing we can do, they've surrounded us except to the front, toward the palace.

We march at a slow pace, I take advantage of this to see what has happened to my old home from behind the thick curtains of the litter. Fire nation banners still fly everywhere possible, but that statue is new… Where's the garden that mother and I used to visit every year? Wasn't there a pond here?

All these questions run through my head as we pass blacksmith shops glowing with fire and clanging from hammer against steel, factories pouring smoke into the air, a constant crunching coming from both sides of us…

Six metal monstrosities peel out of sheds as we march, three on each side, the rapidly gathering crowd kneels in respect. As for me? I wonder why an honor guard would need an escort like that.

Uncle bows his head and looks toward the palace, "Brother, what are you planning?"

I remain silent but agree with the sentiment.

We arrive at the gates of the palace, my jaw clenching in confusion. Where once elegant wrought iron gates stood, a wall of black steel with Agni's flame emblazoned in gold splits in half leading to the courtyard. A squad breaks from the battalion and leads our litter bearers inside. Oddly we're carried to the throne room. The bearers hustle away before they can see us exit the litter. I take this in this spectacle in confusion, wondering why they left so quickly as Uncle stiffens slightly. The pair of us step out of the litter, facing the doors of the hall of the Fire Throne.

Entering, I see my father on the ancestral throne of our nation, Azula sitting at his right hand. My stomach clenches, why is she in the spot designated for the crown heir? I hear a choked sob from beside me, I look over and see a single tear sliding down Iroh's face. Why is the old man crying?

I fall to my knees and bow before the Fire Lord for the first time since that fateful day...

"Zuko," the rich baritone voice rings from the ancestral throne of our line, "I hear you have accomplished your mission?"

Sweat beads on my forehead, how could he have known so quickly? I swallow thickly before replying.

"No, father…" the fire light dances more agitatedly, "we have located the Avatar but twice he has evaded capture."

"Yes… So I have heard. Tell me, Zuko, how did a single water tribe member capture an entire fire nation ship and command it by his lonesome?"

"I do not know, father."

"I see… Do you know why he spared your miserable life, boy?"

"No, father, he told me that there was no place anywhere within a hundred miles that could feasibly hold firebenders prisoner, that he didn't have supplies enough to reach anywhere that would be willing to hold the Prince of the Fire Nation and his Uncle."

"A boy left you to die?"

"Yes."

The wall of fire grows as Father's anger starts to boil.

"Tell me of the assault on Kyoshi. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Kyoshi a profitable trading outpost to our nation?"

I swallow as the heat in the room rises by a magnitude. I opened my mouth to reply, no words come forth. Clearing my throat I stutter out:

"The invasion was a failure," I can only manage a hoarse whisper, "the village is nothing but rubble, the fleet was destroyed down to one ship. The only known survivors were on board Commander Zhao's personal vessel, the one commanding the fleet. We were on board. Reportedly, the Kyoshi warriors suffered few casualties, few burns severe enough to be lethal. The villagers took the brunt of the destruction."

Father's eyes grow wide before he leaps to his feet in pure rage, but my feet are still locked firmly on the floor, "the whelp is toying with me, with the Fire Nation! Zuko!" My eyes snap to father's visage of hate and rage, "did this boy do anything other than waterbend?" His voice goes from a raging inferno to a blowtorch's precision searing heat.

"He summoned a hurricane father," Uncle clears his throat, father looks at him. His eyes narrowing on his brother even as my words register.

"Yes, brother?" Father growls out.

"Ozai, the boy can direct lightning." Father's eyes widen in shock, "and he does so more effortlessly -dare I say better- than you, I, or even grandfather Sozin at the height of his power. With one attack he ended the lives of six hundred firebenders, nearly two thousand soldiers, and all of our komodo rhinos."

Father's jaw falls in disbelief as his eyes widen further in slight horror, komodo rhinos are notoriously hard to kill. They're known to be able to withstand bolts of lightning like they're raindrops, for one man to take out _all _of a fleet's komodo rhinos with a single bolt of lightning? Some people would say it's-

"Impossible!" the Fire Lord roars finishing my thought for me. His fire slams into the ceiling as he becomes more and more agitated.

"As I told commander Zhao, we are facing an enemy who routinely does the impossible. One day he may do something that not even the entire might of the fire nation might match. If he is not defeated before he can master the four elements, our grandfather's vision will be a failure."

"He speaks the truth, father… I cannot face him, not now... not ever." I meet my father's hard golden eyes, filled with rage and hate. The eyes of an infuriated, mad dragon. I look to the floor once more as his words fill the room, his fire coming back to its original state.

"Then you are worthless," the Fire Lord bites out, "you are nothing more than a failure. You were lucky to be born. You have lived as a failure and you shall _die _the same."

Time stops as his words crash over me, he didn't want me back... He's never loved me. He sees me as a tool. He sees _everything _as his… this war will go on until he takes the entire world for himself…

My mind grinds to a halt as I come to that realization, the haze in my eyes clears, the lacquered floor coming into sharp focus.

This man needs to be stopped.

A clap of thunder rings through the room as an odd crackling harmonizes in a lethal harmony with Uncle's scream of "NO!" in sharp contrast.

I don't even have time to snap my head up to watch the blue light dance around me, I only feel the powerful bolt of lightning strike me on the crown of my head. Effectively eliminating any thought about how to bring this rabid dog down.

The Avatar could do it, one monster to take down another.

I smell burning flesh as the light envelopes my vision.

I hear "go join your worthless mother."

I pray the Avatar defeats this monster.

I watch the floor race up to meet me.

My forehead impacts the mahogany floor as darkness engulfs me.

I see no more…

I opened my eyes again, I'm standing… but how?

No… I'm not _standing _… I look down at my blue-white body, floating a few feet above the ground. I see my body underneath me. Splayed spread eagle with my head smoking, new burns snaking across my face and down my into my armor's collar. Uncle holding my steaming, lifeless body.

"Zuko…" A familiar voice whispers across the room, I look to the source of the sound my eyes widening and filling with tears at the sight before me.

My mother's smiling face glowing with a soft blue light like my own,

"Hello, my darling boy," my mother breathed out to me, taking my hand, "I didn't want your life to be like this. I love you, my child. Come, your time to rest is now."

Her eyes gaze into my own, the eyes she gave to me. "Mom?"

She nods and I hug her as tightly as I can. From over her shoulder, I can see Azula's blank face, hear Iroh's sobs, and witness Ozai's fiery visage momentarily change to horror before instantly becoming calculation.

"Azula, I fear you are now my heir. Your brother has passed from the injuries he sustained on Kyoshi shortly after I was able to welcome him back home as an honored Prince. We will prepare his body for the fire sages. The world must know that the Avatar inflicted wounds to my loyal son that he could never recover from. He was brought back to the only remaining ship by commander Zhao and defended by my own brother, he lived this far only by his own will power." The Fire Lord looks at my uncle, "he is a hero of the fire nation, like he always wanted."

Uncle looks up at Ozai, I place my ghastly hand on his shoulder and Iroh jumps. My eyes widen as my hand passes through his body, but he whips around eyes locking onto mine. "Zuko?" he whispers in disbelief, "I'm so sorry."

Tears roll down his face and my own, "It wasn't your fault, Uncle."

"He can't hear you Zuko…" the man bows his head and weeps, holding my body.

He turns his head to face his brother "I will never forgive you for this, kinslayer. Son-slayer," the Fire Lord gave no indication he heard his brother other than a slight twitch in his eyebrow.

"Azula," Ozai says while staring at his fuming brother, "you are to hunt down the _thing _who did this to my son, your brother, our prince. Your ship will be ready at dawn, bring that monster to me. Tonight, tonight we mourn our prince."

"Yes, Fire Lord."

I snap my head over to Azula, and I'm not the only one. Mom disappears from my side only to rematerialize next to her daughter, Iroh's eyes widen, while Ozai doesn't realize the importance of his daughter's word choice. Mom attempts to hug Azula, Azula's jaw tightens and her cheek twitches. Azula brings her fingers to that spot almost unconsciously, mom starts crying but cries out "you aren't lost… Free yourself, my love! Fight for your freedom, melt your chains!"

Like my words to Iroh though, her words do not register with Azula. The Fire Lord stares down at my body, "guards, should anything other than the words I said about my son's tragic demise leave this room, you will be arrested for treason. My son died a hero's death."

The guards nod animatedly and prostrate themselves before the Fire Lord, quickly resuming their posts. Mother drifts on silent wings back to me.

"Zuko, it's time…" she says in a voice full of emotion.

I nod and take mom's hand, "Let's go."

"Close your eyes, Zuko."

I do and white light surrounds me…

_**Azula I**_

_**That Evening...**_

I look down at my reflection, pure white robes with the golden crest of Agni embossed on my chest. I haven't worn robes like this since grandfather died, since mother left… I shake my head at the feeling from this afternoon after Zuzu was killed. I think back to that fateful day, Dad did kill Zuko after all…

I look in the mirror again, thinking back to Uncle's words...

_"Azula," a voice calls from behind me as I'm walking toward my quarters. I turn and see Iroh walking toward me, breathing heavy and face red. He obviously ran here to catch me, "Azula, I need to speak with you," the man pants out, bending over and breathing in heavily. His breathing evens and he rises, I quirk my eyebrow at the man. _

_"Yes?" _

_"Azula, you cannot hunt the Avatar. He would kill you without issue if he thought you were a threat." _

_"I know, but if I stay here..." _

_His jaw falls and eyes widen, "You want to live, if you disobey the firelord he may kill you too…" _

_"Correct Uncle, also the fact I wish to talk to this Avatar. Why would an Avatar as strong as he is, an enemy to our nation, not march straight to our capital and wipe us from the map before we even knew who he was? It makes no sense." _

_"Maybe you will understand in time." _

_I look at the old man and cock my head. _

_"If you will allow me, I would go on this mission with you," Uncle bows his head and I nod slowly, he may be a bumbling fool but no general could possibly have always been like this. _

_He bows his head again, "I will see you this evening, my Princess." The man turns and walks away. _

I look up at my reflection, eyes settling into the reflected hazy pools of gold across from me. The door opens and surprisingly, neither Lo nor Li enter but Iroh comes in. Wrapped in white robes as all the fire nation will tonight.

"Princess, it's time."

I nodded, looking at him through the mirror, my vision slowly clearing as I fall in next to him. Anger thrumming through my veins like liquid fire. Father wouldn't have killed Zuko if it weren't for the damned Avatar's return... We walk through the palace in silence, rage stirring in me and sadness off of Uncle. Eventually, we reach the pyre on the ceremonial plaza.

Tears fall from Iroh's eyes once more as he looks at the pyre, a deep crimson shroud with Agni's golden flame covering Zuko's body.

Father is already standing at the front of the plaza looking down at his subjects, a fire sage at his side. The sun falls behind us as the people garbed in red gather below us. The Fire Lord steps forward.

"Friends! Lend me your ears! This day we welcomed back my son! His banishment lifted! I gave him a single noble task to accomplish to be returned with his honor restored: find and capture the Avatar," gasps ring out among the crowd, Father raises his hand and the crowd falls silent, "he succeeded in the hunt but the capture was not possible. The coward unleashed his power upon a fleet of fire nation ships, gravely injuring my son, he fled and was brought before me in his final hour! The Avatar's defeat is necessary to end this horrible war… A war started to bring peace to the rest of the world, to share our noble aim with all the nations! It was my hope that Prince Zuko would bring this man before me for his abilities to be used on behalf of the fire nation, to bring balance and civilization to the world! Instead, what does he bring? Death! Destruction! To your sisters, brothers, daughters, sons… I say no more! He is a threat to us and ours and must be dealt with as such. My brother Iroh and daughter Azula, have volunteered to bring this _monster _to justice! They leave at dawn, I wish them luck and may Agni shine upon them!"

"MAY AGNI SHINE UPON THEM!" The crowd roars in return, the Fire Lord smirks and takes a step backward as the fire sage steps forward, giving the traditional words:

"Zuko. Prince to our nation for sixteen years. You were our fearless hero in the Battle of Kyoshi. Our saving grace against the might of the returned Avatar. You were the great-grandson of Fire Lord Sozin, now passed, and Kokoli, now passed. Grandson of Azulon, now passed, and Ilah, now passed. Son of Fire Lord Ozai and Ursa, who it is said is now passed. Nephew of Iroh, retired general and the Dragon of the West. Brother of Azula. We lay you to rest."

Two more fire sages step toward the pyre and Uncle takes a step forward, beside his brother calling out:

"With the dying sun, we lay this warrior to rest. From the breathe, life. From the flames, power. From Agni, strength. Hail, the prince of the Fire Nation, slain by a demon! Hail, a hero of our nation! May Agni bless his route to the hall of the ancestors, may he find eternal rest. Prince Zuko, go to be with your ancestors. For your fight is over."

Father's eye twitches at the speech but he gives no other indication he heard his brother's words, a brother that just called him a demon.

The fire sages unleash twin jets of flame at the pyre.

My brother's body bathed in flames, releasing his soul to the spirits.

Iroh raises his fist, orange-white fire roaring from his knuckles toward the stars.

The Fire Lord turns to the Pyre, hands behind his back watching his son burn for the second time.

My jaw clenches as I consider my options, do I stand with my brother and Uncle or do I choose the Fire Lord?

One by one, jets of fire reach skyward from the plaza bathing the palace in an ethereal orange haze.

I make my decision.

Raising my fist skyward, I direct my inner fire to my knuckles.

A plume of orange-red fire matching the rest of the crowd's blazes from my knuckles, I cock my eyebrow at the unexpected coloration. Years honing my flames to the blue only achievable by my family, only for it to revert to orange-red when Zuzu died?

Pathetic.

Unacceptable.

_Weak _.

My father may have killed my brother, but the Avatar is to blame… And I will bring him back, one way or another.


	6. The Lone Wolf

**AN: Before we get started here, in the events of last chapter I had to take out one of my favorite characters in the franchise – so much so that I'm thinking of writing a story with him being the center of the story because of how perfect his arc was in the show – and I'll admit it's to drive the plot but it will have dire consequences on the rest of the narrative. To be honest with you guys, I think G.R.R. Martin is a ****_brilliant _****author and the showrunners of Game of Thrones did a marvelous job at ****_adapting _****to the source materials instead of making their own narrative arcs, but – with that being said – I also loved to see how one character falling would create a domino effect on the rest of that world (until it didn't matter anymore to the showrunners and death was just a shock factor instead of an actual tool). Now, in most fanfics Zuko becomes the hero – in fact one of my favorite stories (****_Embers_**** by Vathara on this very site) turns Zuko into a good guy but not in the way you would think. This story is not GOT where people die randomly, this story is not ATLA, this is ****_very _****AU and I encourage you to remember that as we go forward. Thank you and onto ****_The Lone Wolf…_**

**_Percy IV_**

"Where are we even going, Percy?"

"We weren't in the air for an entire day."

"Getting to the North Pole as fast as possible should be the first thing on our minds, why did we stop?"

Katara, Suki, and Sokka all respectively complained as I just jumped off Appa's saddle and walk toward the trees, listening to the birds calling in the trees.

"By all means, let's stay in the air while I need to desperately relieve myself. I'm sure Katara and Suki would enjoy that sight," I roll my eyes as two-thirds of the group all flush deep crimson with Katara's face immediately falling from view behind her hands as Sokka just shifts uncomfortably. Suki's reaction though was what worried me.

She may have blushed but it wasn't a full face blush, just a little pink in her cheeks. The smirk with the blush was more than enough to get my blood racing faster. She then jumped off of Appa, her leggings doing wonderful things for her figure as her tunic rode up slightly giving off an unhindered view of said assets as she fell. Landing gracefully as a cat, she came up to me as Sokka and Katara scrambled down the Sky Bison's tail.

"Well," Suki whispers in my ear, "I wouldn't mind seeing it again," she smirks even more at this and so do I, one night together and suddenly this girl becomes a complete minx. Her arms wrap around my waist as she buries her face in my chest. I'll be honest, Suki's a comfort. Something that's keeping me sane, I lost everything in a day and had a month to come to terms with it before being dragged into a whole new world.

I feel more like myself than I have since the battle of New York.

I shove her shoulder lightly laughing at her antics, "gods above woman, you'll be the death of me. I'll be right back," I smile as her grip around my hips changes into a vice grip but she slides up my body until she gets to my chest, her faces inches from mine. After a few vain attempts to drag her off me I reach under her tunic with my fingers ghosting over her belly.

She lets go with a whoop of laughter, immediately letting go of me in an attempt to get away from the tickling I'm giving her.

"You're evil!" she glares at me but there's an undercurrent of amusement there. I just smile while quickly walking over to the trees to answer nature's call.

I sigh in relief as I finish but that's when I hear the sound of boots on gravel. Looking up I see what's either a small platoon or a very large squad of fire nation troops marching down a small trail, the lieutenant or sergeant on the ostrich looking thing looks up as he hears the sound of my group groaning at something Sokka said.

We've been caught with my pants down.

Yanking them up, I dash back to the clearing as the sound of boots picks up in tempo, but a group of twenty soldiers and a lieutenant won't be nearly fast enough to keep up with me.

"Incoming troops! Fire nation platoon inbound, fifteen soldiers, five firebenders and I'll eat my Trident if their commander isn't a firebender too, there's a total of twenty-one boogies. Get ready for a fight!"

The group looks up at me with their jaws hanging open, but Suki and Sokka scramble back up Appa to retrieve their weapons.

Sokka simply has his bone club and boomerang while Suki is armed to the teeth. I know for a fact she keeps at least three daggers on her at all times, one of those awesome retractable shields, a wickedly sharp Katana (not the greatest quality but by the gods does she take care of it), her war fan, hardened leather boots, bronze plated bracers, and her leather gloves. Basically she's more heavily armed and armored than I am.

Thankfully though, Tyson managed to make me a new watch weeks after the battle of Manhatten. The thing has been damned useful even if I haven't used it in actual combat yet. And the time feature is less than useless when running around the world like this, time zones and the like. Also the small problem of not actually knowing what time it's supposed to be.

Soon enough we're all armed and armored with Katara holding up a ring of water around her person as I taught her briefly after leaving Omashu. Turns out my style of water manipulation and water bending aren't too terribly different after all. I just don't know the kung fu to do it that way yet, and never will, but the rings are an excellent defensive measure where no one can get near to you without being sliced to ribbons.

But against firebenders? Well, let's see.

The soldiers coming charging out of the brush on the double, fanning out and surrounding us with firebenders being spaced out between soldiers. An unexpected tactic but one that would work to perfection if I was anyone but the Avatar.

The soldiers crush together leaving little room for us to work, so little room that even being back to back to back to back isn't helping much. The firebenders are taking out Katara's water like it's not even there, the soldiers are able to counter any of Suki's attacks with sheer numbers, Sokka's boomerang (surprisingly) is actually able to throw them for a loop. Then again seeing anyone willingly throw away their weapon isn't something you see every day, but he was able to incapacitate one of the firebenders by the sheer surprise factor.

I took this time to get a bit of practice in with my trident, gods know I need it.

It may have been my father's weapon of choice but I've picked up a trident maybe twice? Anyway, I need to end these soldiers... fast. That's when I heard another bird call.

Suddenly a soldier to my right drops like a rock without even a grunt of surprise. Even I was shocked to see the man with a spear and iron face mask crumple to the ground like paper. Looking at the downed man I notice the arrow sticking out of his back, looks like it went straight through to his heart, a rather impressive shot if I say so myself, but I don't see the archer. So I shrug and keep fighting, after all 'the enemy of my enemy,' right?

Soon after a small blur of glinting steel and brown started cutting hamstrings and tendons. Their armor is rather weak in the legs, but I guess that's what a fighting style based on mobility costs you.

Most strikingly was the guy with twin swords scything through the backs and necks of the firebenders.

This all happened in about two seconds.

Before the soldiers knew what was happening, the unseen archer had taken down a soldier and a firebender, little blur got three soldiers, and the swordsman had taken down two firebenders. Quickly the soldiers realized the folly of their actions in surrounding us as they did.

It leaves your back open to attack.

_**Lieutenant Interlude**_

The Lieutenant knew he was screwed, this attack pattern has an efficiency of seventy-nine out of a hundred battles won in an ambush, it works so well against other travelers in this accursed region that there are usually no caravans to speak of.

Usually, the sight of a fire nation platoon was enough to have most travelers surrendering before the formation could ever surround them, those who choose to fight were crushed. Plain and simple especially if our opponents are outnumbered. In the small chance that it was an enemy of equal size, it was still usually tipped in our favor our opponents are usually merchants that would lose their wares if caught in a long engagement with firebenders.

But this group?

We outnumber them twenty-one to four, benders are six to one, weaponry is in their corner but we have them completely surrounded, this should have been an easy win. But it isn't.

This group appeared out of apparently nowhere. When I heard the sound of a small group groaning I assumed an injury among them. This should have been routine, take a tax and leave them on their way if a merchant, capture any soldiers, kill any benders, and find information on the Avatar.

Of course, it wasn't that easy. This group started fighting as soon as they were surrounded.

They were forewarned and prepared against an assault. With a water bender, two seasoned fighters, and another fighter this should not have been a hard battle, especially with our firebenders. But that damned water tribe boy was just full of surprises, with that strangely shaped knife of his and his bone club, a warrior woman trained in the ways of Kyoshi, a water bender and a man armed with a shield and a trident acting like this was battle practice.

The water savage threw his strange knife into the air, the men facing him smirked in amusement until it came back? It knocked off the soldier's helmet and to the ground as the knife returned to the savage's hand.

That's when the damnable rebels came down like an ax.

A cry of pain saw my second in command fall to the dirt never to rise again, I whip around and remember something.

Everyone in Gaipan is warned to never turn your back on these fighters or they may just be the end of you. Personally, I have never encountered them until today but watching children cut through seven of my men before they could even turn around is a horrifying experience.

That's when the male warrior with a trident explodes into action, his trident coming up and around toward my head before a second strike into my armored side finds true. I feel the impact against my ribs, I can still breath so that tells me they haven't broken but they nearly buckled under the force of that blow. The more unfortunate problem was when I saw my masked helmet fly through the air in a smooth arc but never noticed the sting of the hook blade slicing through my neck.

My world spins before I land upside-down watching one of my men fall over, there's one problem though. That's my armor and that body has no head.

Horror dawns across my face as red fades to black while agony burns through my nonexistent body.

**Percy V**

Catch, block, stab.

Catch, block, stab.

Sheild bash, throw, stab.

Catch, block, stab.

Repeat.

Using this simple method I take down several opponents after nearly breaking the Lieutenant's ribs. I nearly stabbed him in the chest with my trident but then again there wasn't much of a reason to as he had just lost fifteen pounds in an instant with the loss of his head and helm.

The troops are all dispatched rather quickly after the three others joined the melee. The living soldiers are all either bleeding and bruised or missing limbs thanks to Hook swords over there. The little blur kneels beside the groaning men on the floor. The last five living men lay dying on the floor, begging for death or for mercy. Some could say they're the same thing. The blur, who I now see is a small boy (or maybe a girl?), takes a vial out of her vest and a dagger off her belt as another teen falls out of a tree.

"Mercy or in battle?"

The first soldier bares his teeth while growling "for the Fire Lord," he bares his neck and the girl, for her voice is definitely a girl's, slices deep and slices quick across his throat. To the soldier's credit, he only made a small grunt before falling silent eternally. She repeats this process on three others who all repeat the same mantra until the fifth asks for mercy, obviously delirious from blood loss and pain.

She put three drops on his tongue before he falls victim to blood loss from his severed hand, three seconds later his chest stops rising and falling.

The girl rises and walks back to her friends while Suki and I watch her in interest, that's when I notice Sokka gaping at the archer and Katara glaring at the little girl.

I take a breath in and focus on the water in the corpses, levitating them into an orderly line.

"How are you doing that?" The swordsman asks in a curious yet guarded tone that I can tell is going to be trouble. I don't say a word as I search for something within myself, searching for the life source hidden in my core.

With a deep breath through my nostrils, I feel the power surge within me. Little did I know that this wasn't just me...

"Soldiers, benders, warriors of the fire nation, you fell for a Lord who did not respect you yet fought for a cause you died believing. There is no higher honor. May you find peace in the afterlife and may your god protect you. From fire, life. From life, to fire. As your life burned like the sun, may your afterlife be as glorious as her rays. You are gone, you may very well be forgotten, but know that your courage and service has affected the world," I unleash the blaze within causing the trio to jump back in horror while my group just looks surprised as golden flames erupt from my palm incinerating the bodies to ash in seconds. As to not start a forest fire, I increased the water content around the leaves on the ground.

I breathe in heavily putting my hands on my knees as I try to catch my breath from the huge amount of energy I just put out. Why the Hades was that so hard?

"You're a firebender!" the swordsman shrieks before he launches himself at me with a wild look on his face, I bear my shield to block the incoming slashes while he attacks with the ferocity of a charging boar. He attacks and attacks but I block every move until he runs out of steam.

"Can I explain now?" he glares at me while panting heavily, raising his swords again. With a quick motion, I trap his feet with the trident and yank him off his feet. His back thuds into the still smoldering leaves

I hold up my hand, looking down at the teenager on the ground. His eyes widen before they squeeze shut. I just call a ball of water into my hands and wait. Seconds later the boy opens his eyes to see me standing over him with nothing but a spinning ball of water in my hand and will it to cover my body sighing as I feel my energy double and then triple.

"I'm not just a firebender, you idiot, I'm the Avatar," my strength already returning from the low point it was at.

"Liar!" He scrambles to his feet and gets in my face, "The Avatar has been dead for a hundred years!"

"Not exactly true," I wipe his spittle off my face and shove him toward his friends, "Avatar Aang nearly died a hundred years ago, he put himself into suspended animation for a while. He was hit by a bolt of lightning while in the Avatar State, the Avatar chose me to be her next host because of this."

"Water Tribe huh? You don't dress like a water tribe member."

"Because I'm not," I glare at the annoying berserker.

He shrugs, "whatever," if that wasn't an American teenager move I don't know what is.

"Those two though," the little girl pipes up while pointing at Sokka and Katara, "they're water tribe through and through, Southern from the looks of it. Always wearing that annoying blue but it's better than that weird purple."

The teenage Berserker smirks and looks over at the bow-wielding teen, "You know what they say about the Southern Raiders, right Longshot?"

"Raiders!?" the siblings' voices ring like a bell through the clearing combining in a deadly harmony, Sokka talks while Katara fumes, "how do you know they're Raiders?"

The swordsman, a teenager with a wheat stalk poking through his teeth steps forward, "Before we get to the unpleasantness, I'm Jet. This is Smellerbee," he motions toward the frizzy-haired girl with war paint, "and this is Longshot, the best damn bowman I've ever met. And me? I'm just a swordsman," he shrugs in a nonchalant manner that's the polar opposite of the unbridled hate this boy just showed. He's unhinged, badly. His hate will lead him to destroy everything in his path toward his goal, but what's his goal?

"And you are the son and daughter of a Raider. The water tribes have been a plague on the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation for centuries, so much so that a phrase was coined and the Fire nation stole their moniker. Sailors, being the superstitious lot they are, made the ditty 'red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning,' but some in the Earth Kingdom took it a step further. They coined the phrase: 'White sheets ahoy, sailor's joy. Blue sails ahead, you're better dead.' And I'm sure you know what color your own sails are," his grin is devilish as Katara walks up to him with a small smile on her face.

Oh, σκατα.

This man is going to die.

***SMACK***

Katara's hand met his face with the wrath of a tsunami and inevitability of the tide. The berserker stumbles away dazed and enraged by the force of the strike, he raises his fist as Katara's eyes widen in surprise, she unstoppers her water pouch and attempts to freeze him in place with her most impressive feat of water bending.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!?"

"For calling my father a criminal, for insulting my tribe, and insulting my friends. Come on guys, I think we're done here." She unfreezes the guy who falls to his face in a heap. He draws his swords again but this time I freeze him in a thin layer of ice that will never melt, it has to be broken off of him.

I step up to his face and pluck the wheat stalk out of his mouth, "now let's get something straight, I don't like you. I don't trust you not to stab me in the back when we leave, this ice will not melt. You can't break it by yourself, it has to be broken off of you. If you're lucky then the person trying to break it won't maim you too badly, now," I turn to the other two as the ice creeps over the encased boy's mouth, "why, in the spirits' names, are you fighting with a moron like this?"

The little girl looks up at me in defiance but also in a bit of respect, "to fight the fire nation and defend our home."

"Interesting, but how so?" Suki asks with her eyes glinting in the afternoon sun.

"We fight anyone from the fire nation we find, they don't belong here. This is _our _land! This is our home and they're trying to take it!"

"They set up colonies didn't they?" I ask the long-faced teen, who goes by Longshot, with a reflex/recurve bow in his hand paired with the massive quiver on his back. He simply nods, great not much of a talker.

"Yeah, they moved in at Gaipan! Filthy firebenders, that they are, took our village! We've been living in the forest ever since!" Smellerbee glances over my shoulder and smirks slightly, I immediately whip around and bring my shield to bear as a log slams into the bronze shield. I feel my knees buckle as the rest of my group bring their weapons to bear. Looking behind me I see a huge boy standing before me looming like the mountain he's built like, I freeze him up to his mouth too.

"Really? A sneak attack? Come on guys we're out of here," I let loose my taxi whistle and see the Sky Bison's shadow, Appa lands causing the little girl to scramble backward as the bowman stands with an arrow notched to the string. I form a small ice blade and cut his bow's string with a crack. Smellerbee jumps at the sound as we climb onto Appa, with a cheeky wave I yell out "Bye!"

The ice around Jet's mouth unfreezes as he gives off a parting shot, "this won't be the last time we meet, Sea Wolf!"

I chuckle darkly turning to the girl who lodges herself firmly in my lap again but I say "I sure hope that's the last time we see him, and what's up with sea wolf?"

Appa takes off as Sokka nearly whispers, "that's what the warriors of our tribe are called. It's not earned until a battle is won against overwhelming odds. We only have three in the tribe and one os my dad."

I nod slowly and resolve to not let anyone call me that anymore, this is their culture not my own.

"We need to restock our food, Percy," Suki reminds me gently and I smack my forehead wondering why we didn't do that in Omashu.

"Didn't the idiot say there was a village around here somewhere?"

"Gaipan," Katara takes the map out of Appa's saddlebag and traces our location, "looks like it should be… about five miles North-West of here over the river."

"Well then, to Gaipan we go."

**Later…**

We landed at the outskirts of the village of Gaipan within minutes, leaving Appa in another clearing forcing us to walk in order to keep our cover.

Heading to the market place, Suki pulls a coin purse from her side and holds it in her hand counting out how much she has very quickly.

"Three gold pieces, thirty silver, and twenty-seven coppers," she whispers in my ear, I tap my chin and think about that, should be able to get us dinner for the night and a bag of rice for the rest of the trip with quite a bit leftover.

Walking through the market place, Suki hands over fifteen pieces of silver to Katara as we split into two groups. Suki and I don't look too out of place from the rest of the Earth Kingdom villagers around us.

"...business in Senlin…"

"...Women being violated…"

"And there are people disappearing without a…"

"Excuse me!" Suki calls out to the two old women that I caught just the barest bones of their conversation but obviously Suki heard it all. She jogs over and asks, "might I ask what you are talking about?"

"My dear, why would you ever want to know about that?"

"For me, madam," I take Suki's arm and smile slightly, "Senlin village needs help? I believe I could be some help to them," I look around and raise my hand causing a ball of water to appear before concentrating harder forcing a spark to appear in my hand, "avatar Perseus, at your service, fair lady," I grin at their shell shocked expressions but they nodded slowly.

"The village is being attacked by an angry spirit from what we have heard, but there are other things at work where men have been found suffocated and women violated and telling the tale of an invisible force choking her husband as a gang of men violated her repeatedly, horrid business indeed…"

My face hardens and so does Suki's, "This will stop, we will catch those responsible. If our hunch is right, we already know who the perpetrators are. They're harder to catch than ghosts, how long have you had this news?"

"Just a few minutes ago, my grandson is in charge of the messenger hawks of the village. The news should be no more than two hours old."

I look over at Suki and I bow to the woman, "thank you madam but I fear we must go, immediately. Many thanks to you."

"And good fortune upon you Avatar."

We sprint away through the crowd, finding Katara and Sokka quickly and drag them out as we pay for the bag of rice they have.

"We're headed for Senlin Village, immediately. There's no time to lose!"

"Why? What's happening?" Katara cries out.

"We found the Raiders," Suki says gravely.


	7. Draco Dormiens

**AN: I own none of this wonderful content if you recognize it.**

**Azula II**

"Report!" Iroh barked out to the captain scrambling down the ladder from the helm of our ship. I must admit, this is what I imagined the Dragon of the West to be at the height of his strength - an armadillo-lion ready to tear strips from incompetent underlings yet composed enough to think that you could walk up and pet it. The dragon that held Ba Sing Se under siege for _six hundred days. _

Incomprehensible when you take into account that Ba Sing Se's wall stretch over a hundred miles around the city. Iroh commanded more than three-quarters of the entire Fire Army for six hundred days and Ba Sing Se held fast all while fire and death poured down on her outer walls until the last day.

Originally the Siege was en régle, Uncle attempted to threaten the Council of Five with Fire and Death. Negotiations continued on while Iroh quietly had forces in transit from all over the Earth Kingdom and even elite shock troops from the homeland. This division was the elite of the elite, Agni's fist.

It is comprised of three platoons consisting of the most powerful, best trained, and most fanatical benders in the Fire Nation placed directly under the Fire Lord's direct command. The platoons are designated into Fire, Lightning, and Smoke Squadrons with Fire holding three squads while Lightning and Smoke have one in each platoon.

The five squads are composed of the most powerful benders that could be scoured out of basic training, hand-picked by the Fire Nation's most elite officers during candidacy testing. Only firebenders are allowed to join the elite units and are watched closely to determine who will be allowed to participate in these tests.

The first test was to become Smith's forge. If the participant could hold their flame at the temperature the Smith required without letting the heat fluctuate or the flame die entirely, then they would be sent to a blast furnace where they would be allowed to let their fire rage at full heat for the first time of their military career. If the Bender can hold fire hot enough to melt iron in less than ten minutes than they would be referred to the Commandant of the Fist where they would be thrown into the fire head first.

Their training is one of the few things that is known only by their commandant, the Fire Lord and the heir apparent to the Blazing Throne - which I cannot be unless father gives a Royal Decree allowing a female to take the place of Fire Lady or he dies before his time which would allow me to take the Throne myself. But as of now? I am the heir presumptive to the Blazing Throne for as long as father fails to have another son…

I shudder but force myself away from those thoughts seeing the face of the only man who is now the exception to the decree by Fire Lord Xiatian, third to ascend the Blazing Throne - my great to the tenth grandfather. The man who created Agni's fist, Avatar Kyoshi was so impressed by them that she created the Dai Li of Ba Sing Se as a counter if it should war ever become inevitable, they are still horribly outclassed.

When Smoke Alpha joined the fight, the city's fall was inevitable. Smoke Squadron is the Fire Lord's personal death squad, and Iroh had command of a full unit.

They are the silent death that you never knew was coming for you and will be gone before you know what happened to you as opposed to the inevitable power of Fire or the blistering power and precision of Lightning. If Fire Squad was created for overwhelming force, Lightning was created for surgical strikes and reducing the Fire Nation's enemies to rubble. Lightning Squad led the invasion against the Air Temples at Sozin's order, they were the only units to make it out unscathed from that day.

Thank Agni the Air Nomads were mostly peaceful people… but damn Shen to the eternal night!

_'If this Avatar is truly southern Water Tribe then he will either be a nightmare to behold or a man set on defending him and his. If he thought his family or friends were in danger then I cannot blame him for unleashing his might against us. If only we could have found an Avatar like him years ago, if we could have convinced a man like him to help us capture Ba Sing Se then Uncle would be Fire Lord today, Lu Ten would be the heir, and Zuko would be alive… but no, instead he had to hammer the walls with eight thousand trebuchets and infiltrate the city with twelve master assassins.' _

Negotiations took long enough for our men to get all the trebuchets positioned, I don't know how Uncle did it but the Council of Five quickly became the Council of One. General How is still an obstacle to the Fire Nation to this day but the rest are mostly incompetent officers that had friends in high places.

The incompetence from the new generals mixed with their panic were enough to allow Iroh nearly two years to siege the city with little to no retaliation from the city itself. Finally, though, the outer wall gave into the barrage of stone and fire that Iroh ordered on the walls after the first three weeks of preparing artillery and scouting the walls for any flaws, there was only one - an incredibly small breach that was just barely noticeable, but it was a massive opportunity.

Uncle made the decision to focus most of his assets on that one area with others spaced around the wall but even with eight thousand trebuchets, the wall was unassailable. It took nearly five hundred and seventy days for the wall to finally thin enough for Iroh to order all strength to return to the location of the original breach.

Smoke Squadron had returned that very day. After another month of holding their breath, Iroh decided it was time to slag the wall.

Leading his men himself, Iroh, Smoke Squadron, Lu Ten's division and a Legion of Imperial Firebenders marched on the wall in a single file line.

The report said that the originally thirty-meter thick wall had been shaved down to ten but it still took an hour for the wall's base to be heated to the point where it shattered under its own weight. Two hundred thousand troops in conjunction with one hundred and fifty thousand firebenders under Iroh's command, the largest army the world had ever seen.

And they were still repelled with losses ranging to fifteen percent before Iroh called the retreat saving thousands of lives, but not his son's. Reports vary widely enough that the official report is composed of estimation and hypothesis as no officer was able to view the entire battle.

"Yessir! We are seven kilometers from port in Gaipan, General. Shall I have a litter prepared?"

I nearly answer yes but Iroh beats me to an answer,

"No, this mission will require speed and for us to unassuming. The Princess and I shall take to the city as a loving Uncle and his niece if we are to gather information."

I almost open my mouth to reply but the idea actually makes sense.

"In fact, if it is possible, do not pull us into port yet. Find a place on the shore, if there are mounts aboard we will be able to ride into Gaipan under a civilian guise. People are much more willing to talk over tea with a weary traveler than with a former soldier."

"Yessir, I'll inform the captain," he bows and spins on heel, rushing up the ladder as fast as he can.

"Civilians, Uncle? Is there something you wish to inform me of?" A small smirk plays on my lips at the fond expression on his face until it turns to overwhelming sadness.

"Your brother," immediately the smirk falls from my face, "he and I wore the Earth Kingdom brown on more than one occasion. A poor war refugee taking care of his elderly Uncle that was overly fond of spirit tales."

You manipulative old man… You very well may be of Sozin's line after all.

"Very well, if that is true then I believe a change of wardrobe is in order?" The smirk returning to my face.

His smile is almost blinding, "yes, Princess, I believe you are correct."

_**Later…**_

"Mushi! What are you doing here, you old hog-monkey!? I thought you and that nephew of yours were headed to Omashu months ago?"

I cock my eyebrow at the strange bearded man behind the bar, but Mushi? Nevermind, had to be Zuzu's idea. Definitely, no one else would have came up with anything that _stupid. _

"The road was not kind, and the brigands even less so. We were ambushed by bandits if it weren't for the squad passing through I would have lost my life with my nephew…" his face is drawn and the barkeep doesn't look surprised but he does look saddened at the news.

"I am sorry for your loss, my friend," he looks distinctly uncomfortable but not at all surprised until his eyes land on me and sharpen, "though I feel I must ask who this lovely young lady is?"

"My niece," the smile on Uncle's face is almost heartwarming, "I had been traveling with her brother and found came across her in Omashu. We've been traveling together for about two months now," Not exactly true, we've only been at sea for a week but it has felt like two months.

"So… you have a name girl?"

"Not one you'll know."

"Please forgive her, old friend, she's just a bit… uh… oh my…." he sputters as he looks past the barkeep to the door, and seeing the person who stepped through I can't help but agree.

"Azula, why in Agni's name are you here?"

I stand up and, for the first time in years, a wide smile spreads across my face. It's fake of course but appearances must be maintained. I take the other girl by the arm, pulling her out of the bar while Uncle stays in his seat with a shocked look on his wrinkled face.

We zig and zag through a few alleys until I'm sure we won't be overheard.

"Azula, I'll ask you once again, what. In. Agni's. Name. Are. You. Doing. Here?" My old friend growls out in that gratingly monotone that's become her staple.

"Not until you tell me why you're in this miserable backwater, Mai."

"Father's the governor of the Senlin Province now, thanks to your father that is. Finally got himself noticed in the Fire Lord's court, got himself into his good books and I think he has our friendship to thank for that," she glances down at my outfit with a raised eyebrow, "and why are you dressed like that?" I scowl at the drab brown and forest green clothes.

"Hunting," I answer shortly. Her eyebrow raises again.

"Hunting who?" Again with the infuriating monotone.

"The Avatar, last sighting had him in Kyoshi with a bearing toward Omashu. Uncle is gathering intel as we speak."

"And how did you wind up with Iroh? The last thing I heard he was with Zuko somewhere in Ice Fangs with a heading to the South Pole," she scrunches her nose and brow in concentration trying to remember the old reports.

"Correct, but slightly out of date. The pair made it to the South Pole, Zuko found the best news he could have prayed for while being the worst-case scenario the Fire Nation could have ever dreamt of, he found his objective," the cold look on my face is a stark contrast to the startled rabbit-deer look on Mai's face. I don't think I've ever seen that much emotion on Mai's face in our entire lives, a strange mixture of terror and hope.

"He found him?" Mai whispers the question.

"Yes, but the Avatar was able to outfight and overpower Zuko's entire crew and took them prisoner in their own ship. He was able to command their ship but he was only able to get about sixty percent efficiency from Zuko's light frigate. The Avatar marooned the crew, Uncle, and Zuko at the Southern Air Temple because there was nowhere in a hundred miles that would be willing and or able to house a company of Firebenders and a platoon of Marines."

"How?"

"His command over water is… impressive. He froze the crew to get them in the ship but the details of what the crew did while in the ship were not reported before we left the Capital. The Avatar has a Sky Bison and used that to lift the crew up to the Temple grounds. After scouting for a day, a Corporal actually stumbled across a small storeroom holding strange staves. He thought they would be excellent as firewood. Thinking he had helped his company in a small way, he brought back an armload to their command post. Iroh immediately knew what they were and ordered every last one returned to their command post along with an order for the staves to not be harmed in any way. They discovered how to activate the gliders, finding only thirty serviceable for use but there was an issue - the nonbenders would not be able to escape… well they would be able to leave the Temple but they would only be able to make it a few hundred feet before taking a dive."

"That might be an issue for them, but the firebenders made it out I take it."

"Yes, used the gliders to make it to Whale Tail Island Naval Base, they were heavily questioned and Commander Zhao ordered all his forces to Kyoshi Island hoping to take that monster by surprise."

"That's what happened to the Southern Fleet?" The horror in that whisper says everything her words don't and the tears streaming down her face sing the entire tale.

"Yes," I hesitate for a beat and this takes Mai by surprise, but she's not alone in that. I never hesitate, why is this causing me to? "Mai… what I'm about to tell you has been labeled as High Treason by father should it ever come to light, do you understand?" Tears are still streaking down her face but her eyes harden with cold calculation, she nods and I continue on, "Zuko made it out of the fight unscathed," the surprise and relief washing over her is tempered by the tension in her shoulders paired with the anxiety of what she knows is coming but prays isn't true. "He made it back to the Fire Nation and reported directly to father when the Fire Lord heard that he destroyed an entire flotilla by himself using lightning… he was displeased."

"No…" tears are openly flowing down her face, I take in a fortifying breath preparing to tell her that the boy she loved is dead.

"Zuko… Zuko suffered the same fate as the flotilla," my voice is completely flat but I feel a strange prickle behind my eyes, Mai falls to her knees and I kneel in front of her, "the news of the Avatar should be reaching here soon. We were the first ship out of the harbor… Father had Zuko martyred by claiming he fell from his injuries on Kyoshi but made it back home to report what he saw." My oldest friend's head is hanging and she's silent for a long, long time until she finally growls out three words in a harsh whisper.

"I hate him."

This moment, this is the moment where Destiny was chosen. Blood may be the ties that bind but I once heard a bard say the phrase, 'friends are the family you choose,' I may not have completely renounced the Fire Lord but to him, I'm a simple tool to use against his enemies. But, that same bard also said, 'better the dragon you see than the alligator-shark you don't.' Until I can meet this avatar, I'll attempt to capture him but if he isn't the monster I think he is an alliance could be forged. After all, a Lord willing to slay his heir is a Lord unworthy of respect.

I kneel beside the sobbing girl, doing something I've never done in my life, I pull her into my arms.

Mai freezes at the forwardness but tentatively returns the embrace, her arms squeeze tighter around my hips as her silent tears turn into horrible sobs. I feel the prickle behind my eyes intensify until I feel a pair of tear tracks run down my face, I don't wipe them away instead keeping my arms around Mai. I don't know how long we stayed there but eventually we parted.

Mai's amber eyes are bloodshot but the anger and loss are evident.

"We need to leave, Ty Lee's circus is a few miles South-East across the river. We'll need her if we're going after the Avatar."

I raise my eyebrow but smirk at the markswoman all the same, I rise to my feet with her not far behind me. We start back to the bar in silence, we make it back just in time to see Iroh come through the door with a thoughtful look on his face but there's a hardness I've never seen before.

"Uncle, what did you find?"

He looks over to me and shakes his head slightly, "just that the Circus is in town! I think going would be a wonderful bonding experience!" The fake smile plastered across his face barely veils the cold calculation there. He starts toward the barn without a second thought leaving Mai and I to catch up with him, which is much harder than I thought it would be. He's fast for an old, fat man.

He raises his hand in a fist, an obvious sign for silence. He saddles his Mongoose-Lizard and chatters on and on about the Circus the barkeep just wouldn't shut up about. It takes a short ten minutes for us to properly saddle up our Mongoose-Lizards, Iroh rides solo while I ride double with Mai.

We're alone in minutes, Iroh starts his official report twenty minutes after leaving the town limits.

"Princess, we missed our mark by ten days. A pair of crones made contact and were able to describe him and his traveling companions - two water tribe members and a teenaged girl that seemed to be Earth Kingdom. More importantly, we have a description and a name: Avatar Perseus, described to be sixteen to eighteen summers with jet black hair, tanned skin and bright green eyes…"

What the…?

"He sounds more like an Earth Kingdom citizen than Water Tribesman. If the ship's log that originally caught sight of the Airbender traveling south had any potential of being the Avatar then the new Avatar should be a Water Tribesman not Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes would use the Avatar to devastate the Fire Nation… Uncle, what in Agni's name is happening here?"

"I'm not sure, niece, but this could spell eternal darkness or everlasting day for our people."

If I had been walking, I would have stopped short and stared… I have to settle for just the latter. Why would Uncle quote the Book of Agni at this moment?

I snap my eyes back to the road with my mind working overtime, Uncle knows something… and I want to know what.

_**Later…**_

There is absolutely no place I despise more than the circus. However, the disgusting, smelly, filthy circus is the one thing that I'm not allowed to disband… Father apparently enjoys the show, personally, I believe he enjoys the cruelty instead of the actual show.

Whatever, but I'm not here for the show, I'm here for an acrobat - an acrobat with an incredible penchant for terrifying benders.

"Azula, calm yourself," Iroh whispered to me, obviously sensing the rage bubbling behind my superior facade.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Uncle," I snap at the old, fat man who just shakes his head. Thankfully I keep myself under control but it was a close call. The current act was an Earthbender being forced to fight off a raging Platypus Bear, he isn't winning. This is the most effective way for the Fire Nation to execute criminals, it keeps the people entertained while at the same getting rid of the chaff of the Earth army.

Barbaric.

_'The only thing I don't understand is when everything went so wrong. Grandfather was a fool for escalating the conflict to the point he did and father was forced to the point where he would need to win this conflict or our country would be destroyed itself. Great-grandfather Sozin had no need to conquer the world yet he did, why/' _

I don't realize how long I sat there in thought until I feel an elbow in my side, I jerk my head around to the girl sitting on my other side with my eyes boring holes into the side of her head but she's not looking at me. I glance down at the empty floor with only a brief second of confusion seeing the net on the blood-stained dirt floor, I glance up and see our target.

Ty Lee.

Her flips are impressive to say the least, she's poetry in motion. Agni help us if she had been blessed as a bender.

She stays airborne for ten minutes and the routine, while repetitive, is nothing if not entertaining to watch. She finished her routine with a flip, flourish, and flop into the net below.

I blink and the rest of the crowd falls silent at the unexpected manoeuver. Usually, the acrobat will land in the same place they start instead of taking a flop in the net. She rolls out of the net to the floor with a radiant smile and a bow. I blink again as the audience jumps to their collective feet and roar their approval as the rest of the performers and the ringmaster gather around in the ring, all while the blood of the Earthbender soaks into their boots.

Soon enough the ring clears out but the three of us stay where we're at, the ringmaster notices.

"You three!" His finger is pointed straight at me, '_ this is going to be fun,' _I internally cackle at the chance to _finally _cut loose, "you need to leave, now!"

"Azula!? Mai!? _Iroh _!?" the acrobat's voice overwhelms the ringmaster's smooth baritone.

"Who?" Ringmaster Idiot's face is priceless as the acrobat sprints up the stairs to us. She reaches our level and falls on her face, I keep my eyes on Ringmaster Idiot when he finally makes the connection.

The realization slams into him harder than a raging dragon. He falls to his face immediately, prostrating himself right over the blood from the prisoner.

I look down in time to see the grinning acrobat wrap around me like a limpet, with a small smile I return the hug but I'm not entirely comfortable with it. After all, it's been years since I've hugged anyone and now I've hugged two people in the same day and even initiated one! _'What's happening to me?' _

"By Agni, Azula it's so good to see you! But what are you doing wearing Earth Kingdom colors? No, wait," her wide grey eyes bore into my gold, "why are you here at all?"

Those innocent eyes stay locked into mine as we stare at each other, my hands never leaving her and her's never leaving me. Our faces are inches away as she waits for me to answer. I'm so surprised that for once in my life I don't know what to do.

"We need your help, we're searching for the Avatar."

"The Avatar? Wha-" Ty Lee cuts herself off as her eyes widen to the size of Copper pieces, "where's Zuko?"

My silence, Iroh's sadness, and Mai's rage say everything words can't. She takes off her headpiece and throws it in front of the still prostrate Ringmaster with a clang.

"Let's go. We have an Avatar to find."


	8. A Spirit Tale

_**AN to confirm that I have not nor ever shall own PJO or ATLA**_

_**Katara I**_

'_What happened here? Who could have done this? The Fire Nation? That makes no sense though... Why would they have burned down so many trees if they use metal in their war machines? '_

Appa landed all while Suki looked up to the clear sky violently cursing the spirits and fate, the Raiders got away and we all know it. We had a half-hour window to catch them, just long enough to get to Senlin on Appa in the weather we've been flying in. Instead what happened was that the half-hour flight turned into nearly two hours, it's incredibly frustrating for all of us but Suki was especially on edge.

Percy said it was because of a thing called a headwind, Percy… He's not what I expected when we first met. When I first saw him _appear _in front of us in that flash of light I didn't know what to think. He's powerful, he's attractive, spirits he's the _avatar! _He's the warrior I always dreamt of taking me away from the dreadful repetitiveness, taking me on adventure after adventure as we learn water bending and explore the world. Now we're on that adventure and headed to the north pole so I can learn water bending like no one in my tribe has in years.

But when we got to Kyoshi that all changed.

Yes, he was still the same Percy but when the fire nation changed he transformed into something I didn't think was possible: a monster.

He killed hundreds of men in a blink of an eye and didn't even twitch, he's killed before. The thought's kept me up at night for the past three days since we left Kyoshi. Maybe that ship's made it back to the fire nation? If so, we may have trouble sooner than we hope. If not, then the same thing might still happen. We'll be hunted like rabbits, like Suki's hunting these raiders.

Suki, I narrow my eyes at the serious(ly armed) girl as she prowls around like a caged armadillo-lion while we set up camp. There's something about this girl that I don't like. I respect her drive but it's to the point of obsession and then there's the little fact that she snagged Percy in a day. A day! I could have had him in minutes if the pampered little Prince hadn't shown up, but then we were on the ship and I did nothing to get him and there are so many things I could have done to do exactly that…

I feel my face flush furiously thinking of Gran-Gran's little talk we had on my first blood. The Water Tribes may give betrothal necklaces but that's only for people who have found their true love, sometimes it's necessary to get to business before marriage to build up our people for the future.

From what I've seen only Kyoshi Island even sort of has a similar stance in regards to… that. I feel my cheeks burn so much I unconsciously look around for a fire bender in the near vicinity. I finish setting up the tent with a deft pull and sit down heavily placing my face between my hands as my thoughts drift to a certain green-eyed boy, I feel my body heat causing my face to flush brighter. I know what's happening but I never thought that it would happen with a boy my age, the only boy my age in the Tribe is Sokka… the closest to my age other than him is a decade older or younger than I am but he went and got together with Suki and the two have been inseparable. Damn it all to the frozen seas!

A rustle of fabric sounds as I bury my eyes deeper into my fists and I don't notice the subject of my thoughts walk into the tent.

"Hey, you okay?" I snap my head up at the familiar voice and look at the man I thought would be my warrior to take me away, he most definitely did but I'm not his.

I sighed quietly, feeling myself frown at his question. I shake my head side to side and he sits beside me. "What's up? You've been really down the past few days."

"It's nothing…"

"Bull," he deadpans in an absolutely certain way but what in the frozen blue depths is a...

"Bull?"

"Bull," he reaffirms with his eyes looking into mine, but I'm still incredibly confused. Might as well ask.

"What's a bull?"

He actually stops in his tracks and looks at me like I've turned to the Wendigo willingly before comprehension dawns on his face.

"It's an animal, weighs about a thousand pounds, has horns, and craps a load about ten pounds," I scrunch my nose at the thought of such a beast, "bull is a term from where I'm from, means load of crap, which is exactly what 'it's nothing' is. Well actually the term is bullshit but ya know."

I stop short at that wondering what to tell him because he obviously won't take a short answer but surprisingly he answers for me.

"You think I'm a monster don't you?" he whispers as he looks toward the setting sun.

I snap my head to the boy beside me who's staring into the ball of fire sinking behind the treeline, "why by Tui and La do you think that I think you're a monster?"

"Kyoshi."

That one simple word makes me flinch, the day coming back in perfect clarity. The Firebenders tearing through the village like a shade of death, I've never felt any heat like that in my life…

Then Percy came down like the spirit of wrath.

The fact that he killed six hundred firebenders and nearly two thousand soldiers in one strike? My best friend is a force of nature, Gran-Gran's stories said as much but I never imagined the level it could be at.

He's more powerful than an arctic gale at the height of winter's chill and more lethal than an entire clan of water benders. But he's more loyal than any Water Tribe member I've ever met. He destroyed those men because they would hurt us, we could have flown away in a second yet he stood and defended those that fed and sheltered him.

Then there was what Suki told me…

It wasn't much, just that if we didn't take them down now then they would never stop hunting us. They'll always come after us but they'll be more cautious if given a warning, such as what Percy would give them.

"Kyoshi was horrible, but you aren't a monster," I place my hand on his arm and he looks over at me.

"Then what am I?" he whispered in a rough voice. I move my hand and wrap my arms around his waist.

"My best friend, the Avatar, and the guy that saved me from a life of utter boredom," he snorts lightly and relaxes into me.

"Well I'm glad I could save the fair maiden from a horrible existence," he rests his chin on the top of my head as we just stand there in each others' arms.

"Percy?" I ask in a small voice, thinking of a couple of things that don't completely add up.

"Yes, Katara?"

"Why did you choose her?" I feel my voice waver slightly, he stiffens in my arms but neither of us let go.

"I…" he sighs deeply, "she's an anchor. I lost everyone I loved in a day, and my life was turned upside down in a month, Katara… She was there and she hasn't given up on me yet."

I nod at that with my head still pressed against his chest. With another shaky breath, I look up at him, "I should have taken a chance back home or on the boat then," I put on a crooked smile to match his own.

He laughs softly with that infuriating cute smile on his face, he pulls away from me and looks around the clearing. He sighed slightly seeing the sun sink completely below the horizon.

As darkness fell, he cocked head slightly to the side as if listening to something.

That's when the strangest thing I've ever seen in my life walks into the clearing. A large black and white something that's as tall as Percy is but much, _much _broader than he is. He looks right at Percy while walking straight up to him, Percy's jaw is hanging open at the sight.

"What, in Poseidon's name, is a gods-damned _Panda _doing here?" he whispers in awe, the thing nudges him in the chest. Percy laughs at the massive animal while scratching behind his ears.

"Hey, buddy, whatcha doing out here?" The Panda? Growls with a turn of his head. Percy nods too but bends down to pick up an acorn, "yeah… this place is awful but the people who did it are going to go down, hard. But there is hope," he holds the acorn up in the twilight. "What is dead will return, brighter and stronger than before. From death to life, right? Back home, a philosopher once said 'what is dead shall never die,' strangely appropriate if you ask me," he kneels down and places the acorn in a shallow hole he dug with his fingers. He closes his eyes and calls on the water in the air, he opens his eyes but the beautiful green is gone to be replaced by the eerie glowing white I've only seen at the South Pole and earlier today, the Avatar State I think is what he called it.

Percy's eyes glow even brighter as he moves in a way that I've never seen from him before, smooth yet incredibly powerful motions flowing through katas in a way I only expected to see in the North Pole, but what Percy's doing… it's not the most powerful bending motions I've seen but they're smoother than a still pond while having the tranquility of the ice plains.

The Earth where the acorn was planted parts as the new oak sprouts faster than any plant ever could possibly grow. The Panda watches in rapt attention until it rears its head back while roaring in... triumph? Why would-

A bolt of green light pierces the night sky like a lightning bolt.

I stumble away in shock but Percy raises his hand in unison with the spirit, there's nothing else this Panda could be, launching a stream of water skyward. The water changes to a bright blue and winds around the bolt of green. Soon the lights disappear but Percy's eyes are still glowing white as snow but he places his hand on the head of the spirit.

"Be well, my friend," my jaw falls open at the strange sound of Percy's voice. His is still there but it's undercut with the voice of the legion, thousands of voices calling out at once, "your forest shall be reborn once more."

The spirit bows its head and walks back toward the trees but from the other side of the clearing, three figures stumble out. A young couple and an elder. Percy's eyes revert from the glowing white back to his sea-green.

"Percy! Katara! What in the name of the spirits was that about!? And who are they!?" Sokka comes running up to us while wildly pointing at the three people approaching from the trees. Suki said nothing but just stood at Percy's side with her hand at the hip on the Katana she somehow found time to put on. Percy just looks incredibly confused at the new tree sprout at his feet and asks in the most adorable manner possible,

"Where'd the Panda go?" and promptly falls unconscious.

Suki grabs him before he can fall on his back, "Percy!?" She shakes him but he just smiles goofily in his sleep and wraps his arms around her, pulling her into his chest as he gives out a gentle snore.

I don't see her roll my eyes at the same time mine do. The big idiot must be holding onto her tighter than I thought possible because no matter how badly Suki wrestles to get out of her boyfriend's arms he just will not let her go. Leaving Sokka and I to greet our newest guests.

"Who goes there!?" The eldest man calls out to us when they get fifty yards away.

"We are Sokka and Katara, son and daughter of Hakoda, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe! Traveling with Perseus and Suki of Kyoshi Island northward to our sister tribe, who are you stranger?"

Since when could Sokka lie so well? It's a brilliant idea to keep Percy under wraps while protecting ourselves at the same time, especially while he's unconscious.

"I am Fangshi, these are Ben and Baichi of Senlin Village. I am simply passing through these parts, will you allow us to share your hearth for the night?" The eldest man, with a deep tan, closely cropped hair, wrinkled skin, almond-shaped eyes colored dark green. The other two had pretty forgettable faces with mud-brown eyes.

"We will. Come, friend, and be welcome."

He nods gratefully while the other two look at him nervously. The three sit down around the fire Sokka made while he also tends to his pots of rice and rabbit stew at a soft boil. Sokka inspects the food once again with a satisfied nod while I toss a blanket over Suki and Percy much to her annoyance.

"So, uh, Katara… can I get some of that?" she asks sheepishly while wiggling against Percy to try and free her arm from the ground all while looking longingly over at Sokka's pots. She eventually succeeds but still has the issue of being on her side, that's when she finally manages to roll Percy onto his back, "finally!" she exclaims as Sokka trots over with a grin on his face.

"I don't know how you two managed this, but here. This is rabbit stew over rice… probably the best thing we've eaten on the road."

"Please tell me you made it?" she sounds almost desperate.

"Hey! What if I did?" I pout good-naturedly, already knowing what they're going to say.

"Then we would be sick for a night, again!" Sokka cried out in annoyance.

"He's right ya know, he's the better cook if it doesn't involve fish or any kind but he's right up there with you when that happens. Percy's hopeless as a cook but I'm not the worst, Sokka's the best of us though."'

Well, I can't exactly argue with that. Being the only hunter in our tribe for the last six years he learned some tricks in cooking in the field so he could eat even when he was alone on the ice. On the other hand, I learned household chores at Gran Gran's knee. Sewing, knitting, cooking what we had on hand (read fish) until the hunters could come back with more food that the elders of the tribe would prepare by themselves to make sure it wouldn't be ruined. Together we learned how to make nets, how to skin animals, how to stitch, things that would make sure we could live in the frozen tundra.

Eventually, Suki finishes her dinner, shrugs, and snuggles into her boyfriend underneath her and immediately nodding off to sleep. I roll my eyes at the two while walking back over to the fire, Sokka hands me a bowl full of the still steaming stew on rice and a wooden spoon. Idly I notice Fangshi eating slowly savoring every bite of the food while Ben and Bangchi eat quickly as if they hadn't eaten in weeks, that's when I realize something incredibly important - they probably haven't.

The two look at each other and take off toward the trees, Fangshi chuckles as the sound of horrid vomiting rings out through the clearing.

"Please, you must forgive them. They aren't the brightest flames in the forge, they made for poor company in our travels. The Spirit of White and Black had taken them in his rage weeks before I had stumbled across the rumors of an angry spirit in the forest of Hei Bei, tell me - children of the Water Tribe - how did you and your counterparts from Kyoshi do what no man has managed to do in more than a century, in mere minutes?"

The man's green eyes burn into us with the curiosity of ages long passed while holding a hint of _'I know something you don't want me to.' _

"Percy gave the spirit hope. He showed it an acorn and a new sprout that he had found earlier," Sokka said just a little too quickly, and the old man knew it.

"Ah, perhaps," he strokes his short, wiry beard thoughtfully, "but I have not known a spirit to react like that to any man since my old friend Roku, he was a wonderful man and had a certain way with the Spirits. The first time I met him was a day when he calmed a hundred-year spirit in the middle of this very forest, a spirit terrorizing my village. I asked if he would teach me how to calm them in a way similar to how he did. I have calmed minor spirits for well over a century children, I was arrogant in this one thinking that there would be no issue. Instead, I was confronted with the spirit of this forest and he was enraged… So, my children, how was a simple Earthbender - like myself - able to calm a great spirit?"

His eyes sparkle as leans forward toward us.

"I-I... " I stutter out before falling silent, Sokka though just remains silent with his eyes wide.

"Hmm… how interesting," the excitement is obvious on his face, "tell me, when did the Avatar return?"

Sokka snaps to me and our eyes meet, we work our sibling magic in the brief second our eyes meet. He sighs and places his hand on his forehead, "about three weeks ago."

"Three weeks?" the surprise is genuine on the old man's face, "three weeks and only now have you found this atrocity attacking this forest?"

"We found him in the ice sea in the Southern Water Tribe, and we've been moving North ever since. We didn't even hear a whisper of this, we were hunting a different kind of ghost… have you ever heard of the Air Raiders, elder Fangshi?" Sokka asks

His face hardens to something like seal-whale bone and takes a shuddering breath, "I have heard stories of the Poison Winds but never saw them myself… However, I witnessed the fall of the Sky Tribes. The strength that the Air Nomads were blessed with is the majesty of the skies and the strength of the wind, but the Nomads chose to embrace the gentle winds that cause no harm. Their sister was the Sky Tribes, they were the winds that destroyed ships at sea, tore houses from the earth where they sit, or cyclones that rip and tear everything in their paths… They claimed they served the seven winds," I feel my eyes widen at that, seven winds? They only leave seven men alive, maybe that's why? Tui and La… "but they served death and destruction alone. They were the _'military _' of the Air Nomadic people, though they would claim to be the shield of the temples. They never stayed in one place for more than a week but would come back to the Air Temples for the celebrations or fertility rituals. At the age of twenty, every Temple Monk was given the option to visit the Tribes to learn to _defend," _the man rolls his eyes with rage just evident on his face, "themselves.

"There are other facets of the air nomadic tribes but that is to be a conversation to be had with our young friend over there," he waves his hand toward Percy, "he can learn of it from his past lives but I know that Yangchen will never say anything against them as she was a lifelong member of the Sky Tribes going so far as to neglect her duties to the rest of the world to fly with them once she had mastered the four elements.

"Avatar Kuruk had no idea what they were according to the manuscripts he left behind," he shook his head lightly like Gran Gran does when she catches Sokka doing something stupid, but relatively harmless, fond exasperation?

"The man was a menace against anything to do with reading or writing, he preferred to sail the high seas or explore the depths. Avatar Kyoshi... " his eyes darken slightly while his face turns haunted, "she went as far as to pattern her Dai Li after the Imperial Fist of Agni and with the tactics derived from Shen of the Sky Tribes, the man was a monster but also the husband of Yangchen… thus the first strike the world had against the Avatar. There was a reign of peace with the time of Avatar Kuruk but there was also no progress, this could have been a time the world could have found peace for centuries… It was not to be," Fangshi whispers while staring up at the sky.

"Yangchen was ignorant of the world, Kuruk was a slave to his own desires, and then came Kyoshi…" Fangchi's eyes flood with something like regret, "she is referred to as the dark Avatar, she who forgot the balance. She was a war-monger and conqueror, single-handedly she tore the balance from the world to favor her beloved Earth Kingdom."

Sokka's face is horrified and I'm sure mine matches,

"You see, no, you _understand _what that means, which is more than anything that could be said for the last Earth Avatar," he smiles faintly at us before launching back into his story.

"The land the Air Nomads set their temples on were unclaimed for a reason: if you could not fly the land was uninhabitable. But the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation's lands? No, they were easy to till and reap. The mainland of the Fire Nation is volcanic and incredibly fertile yet they are a series of islands amongst the sea, with no large landmass for her sons and daughters to live comfortably. It was not always this way," I glance over at a shell shocked Sokka, where is Fangshi going to take this?

"Before Avatar Kyoshi, the Fire Nation controlled all the land east of the Pohuai River," the confusion on Sokka and my face is apparently obvious to the old shaman, "the river runs directly north of this forest and splits the Earth Kingdom in half and has done so since the time of Kyoshi. Previously it was under the rule of the Blazing Throne," he looks at the stars as tears slowly track down his face.

"Why did that change?" I ask in a small voice a little uncertain as to what the Blazing Throne is.

"The Fire Nation was not always under the command of a strong Fire Lord, believe me, my children, even though the Fire Nation marches on the world they have honor in doing so," Sokka scoffs at this and I feel my body tense up.

"If that was true they wouldn't have killed my mother!" I feel my heartbeat accelerate, the power singing in my blood with the moon shining overhead.

"Be at peace, waterbender. The mad Fire Lord Azulon was the most vicious Fire Lord we have seen since Fire Lord Kyona a thousand years ago, and ten times more cruel. Under him the Fire Nation has marched to war across the World while Sozin simply wanted to help the world with the Fire Nation's technological advances and perhaps recoup the losses the Fire Nation suffered over the centuries. Fire Lord Ozai is incompetent as a military commander but then again he was not bred by Sozin himself as an heir to the Blazing Throne.

"General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, Grand Commander of the Imperial Armies of the Fire Nation was born and raised under Sozin's wishes is still a generally good person who I believe would have ended the war as fast as he possibly could," he smiles softly obviously lost in thought but I don't see that since I'm too busy staring at my brother with my jaw hanging open with Sokka's, the Old man we found with Prince Pampered was supposed to rule the Fire Nation?

"Fire Lord Sozin himself was not a bad man until near the end of his life, but even then he did what he thought was best for his people. Executing the Air Nomads, to him, was not to kill the Avatar as much as it was about eliminating the Poison Winds… But he failed in that regard if what you tell me is true. Sozin is remembered as a ruthless commander, a powerful firebender, and a fair Fire Lord that hated what Yangchen allowed to happen to his people, what Kyoshi stole from his country, and, most importantly, that his best friend Avatar Roku, the very friend I mentioned, did nothing to help their country."

I feel every drop of blood leave my face. The Fire Nation actually may have a reason for this war? I always thought this was a pointless attempt to take over the world but if they were just trying to recoup centuries of losses then it would make sense…

"Yes, this war, in a horribly twisted way was justified."

"But why would they want the Air Nomads dead!?" Sokka's voice is hard but his skin is whiter than the tundra snow.

"My son, do you know what the world revolves around?" He smirks slightly as Sokka looks at him like he's insane.

"No, I don't." Sokka whispers gently.

Fangshi just points at the pot simmering over the coals, "it's stomach. Just as the largest dragon must eat so must it's prey, and the prey will eat the grass of the fields which in itself feeds from the grounds. A nation that can control the most land is a nation that will have more food to feed her sons and daughters. A satisfied man is a man that can think for himself, the Fire Nation is blessed with a large amount of livestock yet their agricultural has only risen to a level necessary to support a full army in the past century. Why?"

Sokka stares blankly but his mind is working overdrive with mine coming up blank until my eyes land on Appa…

"The Sky Bisons…" oh no… oh no, no, no.

"Yes," the man is just as serious as we are, "Air Nomads and the Sky Bisons were a common sight a century ago and the Sky Tribes nearly worshipped their mounts going as far as to let their Bisons roam whenever they wished until recalled with a simple whistle, this caused issues with the Fire Nation as the ten ton beasts would crush crops and compact the fertile, volcanic soil that the Fire Nation relies on to grow their crops. You are Tribesmen of the Southern Tundra, you do not know the pain of famine, the desperation of blight, or the rage of a harvest sabotaged by a beast thrice as large as the largest of your home's natural predators."

My eyebrows crease as I try to find something to compare it to but Sokka's look of horror is enough for me to know that he connected it to something.

"Katara," she turns to me, "it would be like if a herd of Leopard-Seals were to eat mostly all of the fish leaving us to find what we could on land, isn't that right?"

"Yes, but intentionally. The Sky Bisons were notorious for their love of wheat, barley, oats - three of the five staples of the Fire Nation, the other two being sugarcane and rice. As for Sugarcane," Fangshi grimaces as he looks into the fire, "it can _only _be grown in the Fire Nation archipelago and it is their most expensive export. Even today they sell it at a premium, but when the Sky Bison were free to roam the Fire Nation as they pleased, they developed an incredible fondness for the plant and would find it faster than any other grain they would need to survive."

"The Fire Army is being funded by a _plant?" _Sokka asks almost hysterically.

"And their steel," the elder nods at us thoughtfully.

"Steel? What's that?" I scrunch my eyebrows up in confusion at Sokka's question. Fangshi looks almost startled.

"Steel is a metal, it is harder than iron or bronze and will keep a much sharper edge than any of those. I have only heard of one material that has a sharper edge than steel, volcanic glass."

"Oh, like Percy's spear?"

The shaman blinks once, twice and asks "his spear?"

"He has a ring that can change into a seven foot long spear with three tips, it's incredible really but he doesn't seem too comfortable with it all the time. He's an incredible bender but he seems dead set on practicing with his spear whenever he can, he could end a fight in seconds and I've seen him do it but when the odds aren't too badly against us he won't bend…" Sokka's eyes go wide, "he won't bend…" he whispered to himself.

"He's hiding in plain sight, if no one knows who he is or what he's doing then he can't be found… he's hiding by not hiding, my son," the Elder says in a slightly awed voice, "your friend has a mind for tactics, yet he allows the only two Southern Water Tribe members for thousands of miles to stay in the open. Why have you not changed your attire?"

"I… I don't know." Sokka cheeks turn red with the admission.

"Then you can learn," the elder smiles brightly even as our fire dies and the moon shines down on us.


	9. Raiders of the Water Tribe

_**Percy VI**_

"Where are we!?" Sokka asked in a voice squeaky from true terror.

"I don't know!" I bark as I try to pull Appa down from the _insane _height we're at. We ran into a storm two days after that strange encounter with the Panda in the woods. Katara, Sokka, and Suki told me about Ben and Baichi with another man, the shaman named Fangshi, but I never met the three of them though as they were gone the next morning. Fangshi sounded like a wise man yet there's something I don't like about the idea of the man. But that's not what matters now, no… what matters is the fact that I have no idea where the hades we currently are thanks to a monstrous storm that blew us off our course toward the North Pole. I thought I was the son of the god of the seas, the lord of storms, but that _monstrosity _was so unexpected that I wouldn't be surprised if it threw Appa a hundred miles west.

"We need to set down," Suki said slightly panicked and I couldn't agree more.

"Right," I said as I went up to the sky bison's head, "Appa! Set down, buddy! We need to land," with an affirmative (and relieved?) roar, Appa immediately started to head downward. I moved back to the saddle to hold on as we descended, pulling Suki under one arm and Katara under the other as Sokka laid facedown in the middle of the saddle.

Minutes later we find ourselves on the merciful beach but no rest for the weary I suppose.

"Get those water tribe scum!" Immediately all four of us jumped to attention. I jumped off Appa's back while activating my arms and armor as I fell. Together with Suki, the pair of charged into the woods following the sounds of combat, not that we really needed to. There was a company of warriors garbed in furs and hard leathers facing off against a small platoon of Firebenders.

I brought my trident up and over, throwing it like a harpoon toward the marked Fire Nation lieutenant. The trident slammed into him like a battering ram, tearing him off his Komodo Rhino and onto the forest floor. The man was dead before he left the saddle. I raise my hands, summoning the water in the air to me creating an ice replica of Riptide in one hand while my shield was braced on my left forearm. Up and down the blade went, tearing through any firebender I could get my hands on, it was an absolute slaughter that ended in mere minutes.

Suki turned toward me with her eyes blazing from the heat of the battle, if it weren't for the men cheering and hooting with us she would have probably taken me to the floor right then and there.

"My thanks, stranger," a tall man with eerily familiar blue eyes stepped forward with his weapon sheathed and arm extended, "might I ask the names of the warriors who fought alongside me?"

The man's dark hair was wild in the daylight and his beard crisped from the fires but his face was open, welcoming, and (again) strangely familiar.

I clasped hands with the man with a smile, "Perseus Jackson, at your service. This is my lover, Suki of Kyoshi Island," Suki stepped forward and clasped arms with him as well with one of her radiant smiles but the man's eyes flashed with surprise along with his warriors.

"Then you have my thanks," the man smiles and opens his mouth to speak when Sokka's voice cuts through the clearing making the man stiffen like someone who'd seen a ghost.

"Bato!? Dad!?" all I saw was a pair of blue blurs as the man turns around to catch the full impact of his children.

"Sokka? Katara? What in the blistering blue blazes are you doing here!?" he asks but there's no heat in his voice. Katara looks up at the man as I take a step back next to Suki and wrap my arm around her waist.

"We're headed to the North Pole," Katara said bluntly, much to the surrounding men's confusion.

"Why on earth would you be heading that fa- no," Hakoda turns sheet white as his voice drops to below a whisper, "please, _please _tell me that the tribe is safe," he begs.

"The tribe is safe," Sokka says to everyone's relief, "there was one raid," and everyone stiffens again, "but Percy drove them off!" As one, the men of the tribe turn to face me. I hold up my hand and step forward.

"Sokka," I growl at the boy who gulps and nods before I sigh and hold my hand up, willing every drop of water in the adjacent air to answer my call. By Neptune did it.

The day was rather humid for us to be so far North and in a coastal area. With one motion, I was encased in a tower of water taller than some of the trees. With a roll of my eyes, I push the water over my head with barely a thought as I concentrate on the air grenade that Suki taught me. As soon as I was confident in what I was doing, I threw the ball of air like a baseball and watched as the miniature iceberg was sent sailing and every Water Tribe member in the clearing ended up flat on their backs as I forced the descending ice tower into a small rainshower over us.

"I forgot to mention that I was the Avatar," I say as I reach down to help the man to his feet.

_**Later… **_

"So, you're telling me that my boy hit the _Prince of the Fire Nation _in the back of the head _with a boomerang!?" _Sokka and Katara's dad howled with laughter as we sat around the campfire hosting an incredibly large boar.

"Oh yes, it was the bravest - stupidest boneheaded - move I have ever had the pleasure to watch," I grin as Sokka blushes heavily.

"By the ancestors," Hakoda boomed, "my son's a true warrior! Did you hear that men!?" he roared, "my son managed to get a hit on the damned _prince, The Prince!, _of the _ancestors be damned Fire Nation!" _

The company, _'battalion,' _I think to myself, _'they're naval forces so it's a step above a company,' _roared their delight and chanted _Sokka, Sokka, Sokka!_

I can't help but grin at the even heavier blush as the boy beamed in pure pride at the men's support.

"What else have you done?" the next to Hakoda, Bato I think his name is, asked with a grin.

"Well, nothing major," I shrug, "defended an Island, beat some firebenders, visited Omashu, saw a Panda in the wild, and well… here we are," I grin as Sokka and Katara stare at me like I have three heads.

"Well," Suki said, "he's not wrong but that has to be the most watered-down version of things I've ever heard." Sokka and Katara nod in agreement with Suki and the Water Tribesmen all look on in complete interest. I sigh with a baleful eye turned on my traveling companions but Suki has one last word to say, "why don't you start with what happened to the Southern Fire Fleet?" she asks in her sweetest voice.

I shake my head at her eagerness but smile slightly anyway, "out of thirty ships to visit Kyoshi Island only one managed to escape," the men look on disbelievingly especially after I say, "and I let the last one run with it's tail between it's legs to the Fire Nation."

"How!?" A man from behind me called. I just shrugged.

"You men are the kings of the sea and experts on ice, tell me what happens when water gets into a cramped container and then freezes?"

The look on some of the men's faces are terrifyingly bloodthirsty when they realize just what I'm getting at, "you burst the seams on the boats?" Hakoda asked in a surprisingly monotone voice.

"No," I say with a small smirk, "I blew the rivets and sent a tower of ice through their hulls."

The men all whoop and cheer in celebration at the idea of destroying fire nation ships so thoroughly that they'll never sail again.

"Wait a moment," Bato said to the raucous sailors before looking at me with a hopeful eye, "you wouldn't happen to know anything about the beasts _eating _fire nation ships off the coast of the Earth Kingdom?"

I have to stop and think about what he could possibly mean before it hits me, "you mean the Unagi?"

"Is that what they're called?" Bato asked before he shrugged, "I wouldn't know, we've all heard stories of Fire Nation ships that we were going to raid disappear before we could get there and the one time we did there were monsters squeezing the ships like an Anaconda-Shark would squeeze a Tiger-Seal back home."

"Then they're helping our cause all the same," the soldiers all roar their approval at that.

"What about your visit to Omashu!?" Another voice called from the crowd.

"Not much to tell about their friend other than meeting an old king to deliver bad news. You see, King Bumi is such an old fart," a chorus of laughter rings through the camp, "that he's not only able to claim he was alive before the woe of the Airbenders but he was close friends with my predecessor. I had to confirm that a dying man's best friend was really and truly dead to the world."

"What's a panda!?"

"It's better you don't ask friend," I call back to the man before locking eyes with Hakoda, "what about you? What have you managed in recent days?"

"Fair winds and fairer battles, Avatar. Lady La and Lord Tui have smiled on us, even in this storm. It allowed us to corner our enemies and brought my son, my daughter, a warrior of Kyoshi, and the _Avatar himself!" _Hakoda roared to the cheering bellows of his men, "to our camp! We are the raiders of the Southern Water Tribe! We are the shield that guards the future, the ship that sails onward on the tides of Destiny! Blue sails ahead!"

"You're better dead!" Came the cheer from a hundred and a half men, but as for the four of Team Avatar, we just looked at each other with grim faces remembering the last man who said those words and all of us had the same thought, _'looks like Jet wasn't lying after all…'_

_**The Next Morning… **_

"Are you sure?" Hokoda wrapped his arms around his kids as Suki and I sat back and watched.

"We are dad, we have to do this. I have to learn waterbending…"

"And you told me to always protect my sister, and I'll always keep that promise Dad," Sokka looked so completely serious that it shouldn't have been possible for the normally excitable Sokka Hokadason. The family group hug was broken by Appa yawning.

"Where is the wind taking you this day, Sokka?"

"The Northpole as fast as possible unless there's a place for us to restock our already dwindling supplies," I answer for him, seeing the uncomfortable look on Sokka's face.

"Hmm…" Hakoda scratched his chin gently, "how long will your supplies last?"

"Roughly two weeks," I say.

"Then stay for thirteen days, perhaps we can teach you the ways of water tribe warfare," Hakoda smiles broadly, "and if you do not accept, I am sure my son would be appreciative of the time to train with our own warriors."

I nod slowly thinking of the wisdom of it before looking to Hakoda, but more importantly Sokka's pleading eyes. "Aye, we'll stay."

"Excellent," Hakoda grins wolfishly, "then I believe we should test your metal, Bato!" Hakoda barks to his first mate, "bring the great five!"

The men quickly gather round with howls of approval as I smirk, Hakoda raises his hand and instantly the crowd falls silent.

"You shall be tested in our sacred five! The shield that covers like the blanket of the sky, the spear that pierces like the cold of the howling wind, the club that, like the sea, overwhelms all in her path, the scimitar that sends men to the endless night, and the ax that splits wood to build our ships to split the waves!" Hakoda looks at me, "who comes before the Spirits this day?"

"Perseus,_ son of Poseidon and prince of the Seas!" _I say in Greek before finishing the rest in English, "the Avatar and son of Sally. The son of Earth and Sea and I come before the Spirits today in the light of the sun and in the presence of the sea. Who challenges me?" I don't know why I ask that but it just felt right. Bato comes back and hands Hakoda a rather small pair of axes.

"Hakoda, master of the ax."

"Bato, master of the club."

"Shiko, master of the shield," a small, wiry man with a shockingly deep voice said.

"Kiluti, master of the spear," a tall, lanky man with long arms called out.

"Uthgar, master of the Scimitar," a hulking man steps forward.

"Let the wolf arise!"

"LET THE WOLF ARISE!" The rest of the battalion called out as a pair of identical men dragged drums out and started pounding them and there was no more time to even think anymore, just time to activate my shield and catch a club tossed to me from Sokka before intercepting the darting spear with the club.

The machete clanged off my shield and I dodged a downward swipe from Hokoda's ax only to be caught against Shiko's shield. I dropped to a knee to drive through the shield with my weight, obviously, Shiko wasn't expecting that because he fell to the floor with an almighty thud before the other four backed away and Hakoda proclaimed: "the master of the shield has fallen, Perseus Jackson is entitled to bear his shield against any who would claim the title of Wolf! Who here challenges his right!?"

That's when I realize that this is going to be a very, very long day.

A man with flowing black hair stood face to face with me, silently raising his seal-hide shield against my bronze. He stepped forward once and then came at me at a dead sprint, what the man wasn't expecting was for me to be underneath his bullrush to use my shield as a lever/spring to launch the man through the air and into his fellows.

"Unalaq of the Shield has been defeated, who else would challenge this man?" He waits for a few moments and none step forward. Silence ensues yet again as the remaining four men step forward to meet me. Uthgar was leading the charge, though leading is a bit of a misnomer when the giant man easily overextended enough to leave himself open to a blind sea-otter. I quickly realize that swordplay isn't a strong point in the water tribes if this is the best they can give.

Uthgar is a bear of a man, almost literally. He's huge and massively powerful but on two legs he's slow and unbalanced. I actually almost feel bad for what's about to happen. I dodge to the left with a duck underneath his machete to slam my club into the back of his knee, driving the big man to the dirt.

He gasps heavily from his position and attempts to rise only to catch a club to the temple. I hit him hard enough to knock him out but not hard enough to kill him.

Hakoda calls for the halt once again, "the master of the scimitar has fallen, Perseus Jackson is entitled to bear a blade against any who would claim the title of Wolf! Who here challenges his right!?"

Three men step forward with Scimitars raised and ready. I glance down at Uthgar's unconscious form being dragged away but the left his scimitar. I pick up the weapon after I tossed Sokka his club back with a look of _'I may need that again,' _and spin the scimitar in my hand with a grimace.

'_What is this? A sabertooth? By the gods, balance is halfway up the blade, it feels more like an ax than any slashing weapon I've ever held!' _I would have groaned had the three not already been charging me. I drop to a knee as the first man came on me, I shoved my shield into his belly and tossed him up and over. I brought the shield back around to intercept the second man's strike while parrying the third man's with the scimi-ax. The sword flew over my head, leaving the man open to a strike at his own neck which I took full advantage of. I brought the sword up fast as lightning and slowed enough to only nick the man's neck. He raised his hands and stepped out of the circle leaving me and number two.

The drumbeat picked up as we faced off against each other. I could tell he was waiting for something when every instinct I had screamed _"DUCK!" _my body was reacting before I had a clue what I was doing. I swayed to the left, bringing my knee to the dirt once again. Immediately I saw number one's sword in a position that would have taken my head from my neck had I not had the curse of Achilles. I nearly stopped to facepalm at the realization, no matter what they do normal swordsmen couldn't hope to touch me.

I size up the two men who are standing shoulder to shoulder and have to pause to think about why on earth they would choose such a lousy fighting position. It may work on a cramped, crowded boat but don't these people routinely fight firebenders? Men who can use their hands and feet as flamethrowers? I shake my head, vowing to teach them true swordsmanship and strategy at a later date. Right now? I have to get through this challenge unscathed.

The two charge in unison and prove they aren't complete idiots by splitting off to cover either side of me, but that's a rookie's trick. I raise my shield against number one while number two comes in with a horizontal strike that would have gutted most people, but I'm not most people. My blade almost hisses through the air as it came down in a graceful, lethal arc that shattered his sword and mine. His eyes widened in a strange mix of horror and respect that lasted all of two seconds as I brought the hilt of Uthgar's scimitar to the underside of his jaw. The man actually came a few inches off the ground but I was already swinging my shield to intercept number one's scimitar.

With a clang, the sword slammed into bronze, but I was already driving through, remembering the lesson I taught the Kyoshi Islanders: '_a ten-pound circle of metal smashing someone's face is going to do some damage.'_

Let's see what it does when it takes someone in the chest.

I bring my shield to bear and use the rim to catch him in the stomach, winding him as well as forcing him to double over. Since it presented such a beautiful opportunity, how could I not take it?

I slammed my fist into the man's temple, dropping him like a box of rocks.

I stood straight, looking around at the men surrounding me with jaws on the floor before the cheering actually started, "Shield Wolf! Sword Wolf! Shield Wolf! Sword Wolf!"

I lock eyes with Sokka and Katara who are looking on with not a little pride mixed with absolute shock. _'Oh yeah, this is the first time they've seen me cut loose with my abilities isn't it?'_

I twist my ring bringing my trident out making the men fall silent as the masters of ax, club, and spear step forward. I retract my shield leaving me with my trident alone, _'okay, take out spear boy then worry about Bato and Hakoda. They're going to absolute bitches to beat so I'm going to need to take out the spearman before I can focus on those two.' _

I let my gaze drift over the man, trying to find any weaknesses in the man's five foot eight height. Other than a few silvery scars on the man's bronze skin, I can't see any obvious weakness in the man's body but in his stance? His feet are much too far apart and even worse, they're side by side. I raise my trident as the three men opposite of me return the salute.

I immediately charge forward when I hear the drums pick up once again, moving so fast that I'm almost a blur to all around except maybe my Airbender. My trident traps the man's whale tooth spear against the ground, allowing me to get inside his guard to deliver a punch to his solar plexus. He gasps, dropping his spear as I rip a plain steel baselard dagger from my boot. It's nothing special except it used to be bronze, but the razor edge at the man's throat makes him take a step back with hands raised.

Hakoda and Bato look stunned at the ferocity of the attack. I pick my trident back up, willing it to return to its ring form while activating my shield once more.

Hakoda reluctantly calls out as if he couldn't believe the fight was already over, "the master of the spear has fallen, Perseus Jackson is entitled to bear a blade against any who would claim the title of Wolf! Who here challenges his right!?"

No one dares step forward after that little display and Hakoda and Bato resume their starting positions much warier than they were before. I give a wolfish grin before raising my dagger to the men who, again, return the salute. I don't charge this time except to take a few paces away from the line. Bato's nerves obviously got the best of him as he charged forward, making Hakoda do something similar. _'This fight's going to be much different,' _I think as Hakoda's ax nearly takes my arm off, even behind my shield. I lash out at Bato but he jumps back before cold steel can touch him anywhere. I nearly throw my shield at Hakoda to keep him off balance when an idea slams into me. I slowly start to circle to where Hakoda and Bato would have no choice but to fight me from the direction while acting as if I'm tiring out.

They take the bait hook, line, and sinker. I almost smile as the two bring their respective ax and club up and over in a manner that would almost certainly shatter any water tribe shield I've ever seen but those are made from wood and hardened leather, not godly bronze. The weapons clang off my shield and I thought I heard the pop of breaking bone before I remembered with a start that Hakoda has a bone ax.

'_He hit me hard enough to break his ax? How hard is he swinging that thing!?' _is all that passes through my mind as I take Hakoda in the side with the shield and place my knife at Bato's throat. I'm almost certain I heard the slight pop of cracking ribs and wince. I didn't mean to hit Hakoda that hard but he obviously doesn't take offense if the smile on his face is any indication.

"Hail! Perseus Jackson, _The Wolf of the Southern Water Tribe!" _

"ALL HAIL OUR WOLF!" I actually have to look around in confusion for a second as Sokka, Katara, and Suki slam into me, dragging me to the dirt for the first time that day.

"Percy!" Sokka screamed out, "do you have any idea what you've done!?"

"Not a clue," I laugh gently, "why don't you tell me?"

"You've just become a member of the tribe!" Sokka said with excitement boiling through him.

"Not only that, Sokka," Hakoda's baritone called out, "the title of Wolf of the Southern Water Tribe is granted to any warrior who can defeat the great five, any challengers, and keep his title when challenged for it. You faced the five masters of the Southern Tribe and thus you are our lead warrior, second only to me in importance within the Tribe," Hakoda looked at me with pride in his eyes, "our tribe keeps the tradition of the weapon while our sister tribe relies mostly on water bending. If you can defeat their Great Five and their two chief benders then you shall be given the name Wolf of the Water Tribe."

"Water Tribe?" I ask with a bit of confusion, "wouldn't it be water tribes?"

"An excellent question, but the Great Wolf unites the Tribes in way that even the moon and sea cannot do. The Wolf belongs to all the Water Tribes, or the Greater Water Tribe. Those who are born of water and moon are of the Greater Tribe and the Wolf is our greatest champion."

I sit there stunned at just what that mean, I'm basically the Water Tribe's champion… No wonder Sokka's so impressed.

"Now there's only one thing left to do!" Sokka said almost thrumming in excitement.

"Oh?" Hakoda asked, "and what would that be?" his smile is almost blinding.

"Well, we can't have the Wolf of the Southern Tribe being a boy by our customs, can we?" Sokka smile grows even wider, "is there a place we can go ice dodging?"

"No," Bato says with a bright smile, "but there is a place to go rock dodging. We can use my ship, it's the smallest in the fleet."

The crowd roars their approval and runs back into the woods to a destination that none of us know.

"Well, Sokka," Hokoda smiles down at his son as we struggle to our feet, "you'll be the skipper for this expedition."

"Me?" Sokka says in shock.

"You," Hakoda smiles broadly, "you're the son of the chief and best friends with the wolf of the Southern Tribe. You are to be chief when it comes my time to join the ancestors in the Night Lands."

Sokka almost has tears running down his face as he hugs his father.

_**Later…**_

'_Rapids, rocks, a good tailwind… hmmm, this is going to be tricky,' _I grin at the idea of a challenge even as the ship almost sings under my feet.

"_Sokka, you steer and call the shots. Lead wisely. Katara, you secure the mainsail. The winds can be brutal, so be brave. _Percy_, you control the jib, without your steady hand we all go down. Your position is about trust. _[1] Suki, you watch the fore. Sharp eyes are needed to watch for obstacles under the waves, without your watch the ship will go down," Hakoda says to all of us. We nod but it's hardly necessary, I can feel every obstacle underneath us, the ship is already begging for me to take the helm, and the waves are almost calm as the sea prince stands in their presence.

"_For this to be done right I cannot help. You pass or fail on your own," _[1] Hakoda says as he stands on the prow watching us control the ship with Suki beside him watching for rocks.

The next fifteen minutes shows just how well Sokka knows his way around a ship. The boy calls out so many commands and keeps the ship steady and whole until we come face to face with a group of rocks large enough to form a natural wall.

Immediately I set to stopping the current underneath us, dragging the boat to a halt. "Sokka!" I call with a bit of strain in my voice, water _hates _to be restrained after all, "do we want to go over it or around?"

"Over!" I sigh and drag the ship back half a hundred feet to get the ship to full acceleration with a wave building beneath us to the wall as the sounds of cheering from the men on the canyon walls call out in triumph.

We pull into the calm stream behind the natural breakwater and sail back to the beach. By the time we get there, the men are cheering like lunatics.

Hakoda smiles and raises his hand for quiet, "Suki of Kyoshi, Perseus, Katara, and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe," he says, "kneel."

As one we do just that, all coming to our right knees. "Bato," Hakoda turns to his first mate, "bring the paint."

One of the sailors was one step ahead, it seemed, as he handed Bato a small ceramic jar of paint to Hakoda.

"Let the Spirits of Water, Moon, Sun, and Earth bear witness to this crew! Who else bears witness!?"

"The crew of the _Sea Bear_, bears witness!"

One by one the captains of the ships the _Ice Crow, Tiger-Seal, Anaconda-Shark, _and five others call out before...

"The crew of the _Fair Kya, _bears witness!" Bato called out much to Sokka and Katara's surprise.

"I, Hakoda chief of the Southern Water Tribe, bears witness to this event as the man who witnessed this crew's bravery first hand!" The battalion throw their heads back with a howl of approval.

"Sokka, son of Hakoda, you have earned the mark of the wise, the same mark I earned as a boy. Katara, daughter of Kya," I almost snap my head up, I never met Sokka and Katara's mother, what happened to her? A question for another day… "you have earned the mark of the brave, for your courage is inspiring. Perseus," Hakoda looks down at me with a smile, "you have earned the mark of the Wolf," muttering explodes around the men, "for your ferocity in battle and steadfastness to your crew, with this mark you are a full member of the Southern Water Tribe." The cheers that explode around the camp are nothing short of breathtaking, "Suki of Kyoshi, you have earned the mark of the Hawk for your eyes kept this crew safe. With this mark, you are an honorary member of the Southern Water Tribe. Rise, men and women of the Water Tribe!"

The screams and cheers as we stand are deafening but the only thought I can manage is that I have a home.

[1] Taken Directly from 'Bato of the Water Tribe.'


	10. Fire and Water

**I own nothing of ATLA or PJO, now on with the chapter!**

**Azula III**

Twenty-six days at sea. Twelve to get to Gaipan from Caldera City and fourteen to make it from Gaipan to this terrible little trading post after finding no trace of the Avatar except for the eye witness account from two travelers named Ben and Baichi, idiots that they were, placing them in a forest hundreds of miles from here but heading in this direction. Now here we are in a trading post to restock the ship's dwindling supplies and to see what information we can gather.

Which brings me to this horrid little smithy in the middle of nowhere, my eyebrow twitches at the rodent-like smith standing behind the counter.

"You're telling me that you can't fix something as simple as a nick in a dagger?"

"No, m'lady. I'm a simple smith, if ye need nails or arraheads I'm your man but knives and swords? No, no, m'lady. That's over mi head," the smith wrings his hands at the force of my glare.

"Well that answers my question," a baritone voice says from the door, I turn around slowly to come face to face with a man whose face is barely visible in the gloom of the dingy shop. The only thing I can make out is that this is _the _model of what a man should look like. He steps back to the open door, the light hitting his face just right to make his eyes appear as if they're glowing green as he pins the man with his stare, "I believe there was another shop a bit down the road, his shop looked like it could actually make something other than cheap iron tacks or dull arrowheads. Ma'am," his beautiful eyes meet my amber, I blink twice as the word _'beautiful?' _runs through my head, "would you join me? I could probably even fix your dagger for you if it's a simple nick, I have a whetstone back in my saddlebags."

I find myself nodding before striding out of the door without a word as he holds the door open for me, I would have scoffed but this man is lower than me in every meaning of the word except physically.

"Trash," the man mutters darkly as he locks eyes with the smithy behind us.

"Indeed," I smirk as we walk down the street toward this other smithy in comfortable silence, "so, why are you walking with me?"

The man smirks, "we're in a trading post ma'am, there's strength in numbers and in steel."

I almost stopped at the strength in numbers part, "so you're what? Saving the poor little helpless girl?" I'm almost fuming at the perceived insult before he snorts with a smile crossing his face.

"If anyone needs protection it's anyone who gets in your path," we stop in the middle of the deserted street to turn and face each other, forcing me to look up to meet his eyes.

"And why do you say that?" I ask with a dangerous edge to my voice.

The man grins broadly, "you carry a knife - probably more than one and if not then you carry it - for a reason, yet you don't know how to sharpen it," he says with a smirk but his eyes are cold as ice, "that means you're carrying it for appearances but you carry yourself like an apex predator, you're absolutely sure no one will challenge you. If anyone's stupid enough to do so they would be torn to shreds. You don't know how to sharpen the knife because you don't have to use it, you're a bender." I almost pounced on him then and there until he said, "so am I, but it's always good to have someone to cover your back just in case a group tries to get froggy," he gestures down the path, "shall we?" he offers his arm and I grudgingly take it.

"So," I drawl, "what brings you to this wonderful corner of the Fire Nation?"

"Travel," he smirks as we just keep walking, "same as you, it seems."

"True enough," I bring my hand to my hair and twist one of the locks framing my face, "what's your rank?" I ask offhandedly.

The man looks down at me as if I'd lost my wits, "my what?"

"You said you were a bender," I say slowly as if explaining numbers to a small child, "all firebenders have ranks."

He chuckles as we keep walking, "that would be assuming I'm a firebender, miss," my eyes flash in surprise and not a little interest.

"Oh," I drawled with a smirk of my own, "and what would an Earthbender be doing all the way out here?"

"Guess again, and no - I'm not one of the bastard Air Raiders," now it's my turn to be actually surprised.

"Air Raiders? Who're they," the man actually staggers a bit as he looks around a bit panicked. He gestures toward an alley and walks over to with a whispered,

"Not here," and I understand the message all too well as we stride into the alley.

"Alright, we're alone," I say impatiently with a tapping toe, "who, in Agni's name are these _Air Raiders?"_

"The survivors of the woe," he says grimly.

"The woe?" I scrunch my eyebrows at the term before the realization dawns on me, "you mean the conquest of the Air Clans?" My eyes widen before narrowing, "you lie," I hiss at the man, "there were no survivors! Fire Lord Sozin destroyed those rebels!"

The man raised an eyebrow at me, "why would I lie?"

I take a breath in but pause, _'why would he?' _a small voice whispered in my head, _'what reason does he have to lie to a nobody?'_

"I apologize, where did you hear about this?"

"Kyoshi Island," my head snaps up at that and the man raises his hand, "do you think I had _anything _to do with that awful business there?" I actually have to stop myself to think, I'm in one of the fastest boats on the planet and the destruction of the southern fleet took place three weeks ago. This man most likely had a sailing ship, meaning it would have taken him at least a month to make it here. He's not likely to have been there.

"No, I don't think you were anywhere close to the island when the Avatar destroyed the fleet."

The man raises his eyebrow at the phrase, "the avatar?"

I sigh and bring my fingers to the bridge of my nose, "yeah, the Avatar. He's back, they say he's no Airbender… after all what Airbender would execute nearly seven thousand men?" I say absently, not noticing the man's eyes until they locked.

"Seven thousand men?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, he apparently dragged nineteen ships into the shallows and ripped them apart at the rivets but only after slaying the landing party with a single attack," I whispered while clenching my fist. The next thing I feel is the man's arm around my shoulder.

"Why would he do that?" I hear him ask quietly, "what kind of man would be whipped into that kind of killing frenzy?"

"One who's evil," I whisper.

"What if there are no evil men? Just misled, men who want to defend what theirs? Then why would he have destroyed an entire fleet?"

"Because he had no honor," I growl, but the man just smiles slightly.

"Honor… What is honor?" the man asks me in a quiet voice.

"Justice, Loyalty, Dignity, Courage, and Power. The five pillars on which the Fire Nation was built."

"Then what are the values of the other nations?" the man says while pacing the alley. When he comes back, we lock eyes and I raise my eyebrow in return, "you don't know?" the man says with a smirk throwing his hands in the air for effect, "I don't know either…" he says with a small grin, "except for one, well two now including the fire nation."

"Then tell me, oh wise one," I pull my chin a few inches into the air, "what's the water tribe's view on _honor?" _I toss my hair with a small smirk.

"The Tribe," he says simply, "for the southern tribe at least, I'm not sure about the North but in the south, the Tribe is all that matters. Protect the Tribe for the Tribe is family," he strokes his chin slightly, "now think about where you know this Avatar's from."

My eyes nearly bug out of my head, _'Zuko found him at the Southern Tribe with two traveling companions. But he said he didn't look anything like them, so what's the connection there?'_

"Let me tell you a little nugget of wisdom my mother once told me, 'friends are the family we choose'."

My mind works overtime trying to figure out this man's angle and connect that little nugget but when I stop trying to figure that out, I think about his words. _'Why… Why would he crush an entire fleet? To make a point? No… the Avatar's been quiet, he's not looking to send a message more than a Boar-Q-Pine bearing his quills would. Leave me alone or beware the consequences,' _my eyes widen as I remember the question that I posed to Uncle Iroh:

'**Why would an Avatar, as strong as he is, an enemy to our nation, not march straight to our capital and wipe us from the map before we even knew who he was?'**

"Because he wasn't interested…" I whispered. The man cocks his head at me curiously but I don't pay him any mind, "he was protecting his friends. He's loyal to those he considers under his protection..."

"I think you're right," my eyes snapped to the green-eyed man at the simple remark, "he wasn't interested in wiping out a fleet. In fact, I doubt he's interested in killing anyone, but I also doubt he was going to sit there as an entire town burned around him as the Fire Nation tried to capture - or do worse to - him. If the Fire Nation leaves him be…" he shrugs and smiles gently as I nod thoughtfully chewing my lip all the while.

'_Wait,' _I freeze for a second, _'when did he move in front of me! Damn! I _have _to pay more attention to my surroundings!'_

"Are you alright?" The man asks gently.

"Yeah, yeah… I'm fine."

"C'mon, I think that's enough of this depressing conversation," the man smiles genially, "and I promised to fix up your knife."

"Right," I smile hesitantly, "I never got your name," I say before thinking about it, _'damn it Azula! Think before you say anything!'_

"Well, that was rather forward for you," I can't help but chuckle ruefully.

"You're right," I take his arm again as we head to the smithy, "but you haven't answered the question."

He grins broadly, "my friends call me Percy, and if we ever meet again feel free to do so."

I can't help but smile in return, "I might just do that."

"Now might I ask yours?"

I pause for a moment but give in, I'll never meet this man again after all. And he's _quite _attractive for a waterbender. I open my mouth to answer but before I can say anything I hear it come from behind us.

"Azula!"

"A friend of yours I take-" the man turns around only to stop short with his eyes wide and jaw hanging open. Time seemed to freeze before he took off like an arrow leaving me startled and incredibly confused as a bolt of fire nearly engulfed me to get where Percy had been standing seconds before. I whip my head around to see what happened only to not be able to believe my eyes...

_**Meanwhile…**_

_**Sokka I**_

'_Hmmm… do I want the belt or the purse…' _I pick them up and weigh the options, _'I like the grey on the bag and we could use one but it's too much of a purse to be of much use for long periods of time but the belt, the belt I could hang a sword on with my boomerang which would let me wear the messenger bag over there. Hm… decisions, decisions.'_

"I think the belt would go great with that outfit," I turn around still clutching the purse and belt, "ohhh and with your eyes!" The owner of the voice looks me up and down before stepping up and taking the purse from my hands, "this won't work! The yellow _totally _messes with your aura and we can't have that."

"Aura?" I cringe at the most boneheaded question I could come up with, _'Percy's right, I am a bonehead sometimes,' _but the girl doesn't seem to mind as she grins broadly as she starts a tangent on what auras are.

"...and yours is like totally the same as the sea!" Her ice grey eyes meet mine as she puts the bag down on the counter with a few coins, "and it would be a shame not to accent that color with that belt, wouldn't it cutie?"

I blush heavily, trying to make words but I just stand there like a fish out of water. She giggles at me before taking my hand to literally drag me from the shop. Briefly, I wonder if I'm being kidnapped but it's when I let my eyes follow the girl's braid to the exposed back that I think being kidnapped wouldn't be so bad.

"Here we are!" the girl says with a flourish toward a small shop, she drags me inside. Almost immediately I'm overwhelmed by color, not just the blues, blacks, and greys of the Tribe but yellows, greens, reds, and all the colors of the one rainbow we saw on our travels.

I can't think about it too long before the girl is tossing me shirt after shirt with random commentary on them, "oh! What do you think of this one!?" she asks while holding up a top similar to the one she's wearing but in blue that would look great on her, _'the color goes great with her eyes an- what am I thinking?'_

"I think that I have no idea who you are and you dragged me into clothes shopping anyway," there's no heat to my tone and thankfully she recognizes that.

"Oh," she says with a small blush while pulling on her braid slightly, "I uh, I thought you were cute and, and," she sighs slightly trying to get her thought in order before a smile comes across her face, "and I'm Ty Lee! There, now you know me!" She smiles brilliantly at herself almost as brightly as she was at me.

"Slightly," I say with a smirk of my own, "I'm Sokka, and I think that top would be _wonderful _with your eyes."

She smiles brilliantly before going back through the racks, "so what brings you here? It's a long way from the North Pole," our eyes meet and I freeze for a second, completely unprepared for a question like that.

"I, uh…" _'think Sokka, think!' _"Travel! Yeah, me and my sister are heading to our sister tribe, we were going to trade some of our Polar Bear-dog furs for… uh…" I freeze again before I snap off, "my sister knows! You'd have to ask her," I would have wiped my forehead right there if the girl hadn't sharpened her gaze on me.

"Huh, I thought Polar-Bear dogs were native to the _Southern _water tribe," she steps out from behind the rack to face me, "and I also thought members of the Northern Tribe wore purple," she raised her eyebrow at me and I almost cringed.

I sigh and just say, "who said I was from the North?" and immediately realized it was true, I never _said _I wasn't from the Northern Tribe just that it's a long way away and that we're trading goods there.

Her eyes light up brilliantly, "oh so you want to play it that way?" she asks with a brilliant smile on her lips that I can't help but take in with a smile of my own.

"You know," she says as she takes a step closer to me, "I've been looking for a pair of people from the water tribe."

Immediately my nerves jump to high alert, the wolf's blood howling through my veins as my heart rate races like a fox-rabbit while my vision narrows in on the threat in front of me. When I hear the distinctive roar of a firebender outside I throw the clothes the girl chose for me back into her face while simultaneously launching myself toward the door, praying I can outrun the cute girl with long hair.

_**Katara II**_

"Hmm… interesting topic," I look up at the man behind the counter before looking back down at the scroll on chi paths and anatomy, "so if these… _arteries _are what make blood flow, what makes the arteries work?"

"That would be the heart, Water Tribe," a dry voice calls from the back of the store before the merchant could answer (but to be fair he looked just as lost as I did), "heart stops beating, blood stops flowing, life stops living." I look up from the scroll's picture of the heart to the source of the voice.

"Thanks! The scroll doesn't say much on that, it's rather detailed on chi and chakras though," the golden-eyed girl looks down at the scroll with a small chuckle.

"No small wonder," she says, her finger reaching down to where the author was noted, "a Water Tribesman working on healing?" she shakes her head slowly, "it's probably a first-hand account from where he watched the tribal healers, definitely doesn't read like an expert account…" her eyes move from the scroll to the merchant, "you wouldn't happen to have any of Ba Sing Se University's theses on anatomy and physiology or, failing that, a Fire Nation field medic handbook would you?"

"No, ma'am," the small merchant sounded genuinely upset at the idea of not having literature in his collection.

"Pity," she sighs and hands the scroll back to me, "if you ever get a chance to get your hands on either of those, Water Tribe, you should take it."

"Katara," I say with a small smile, the girl's lips quirk briefly. Not much, just enough to notice.

"Mai," she says as she walks back to the door. She pauses briefly, stopping at a rack of shelves and pulling a scroll out. She looks down at it with her back still turned to me, "here," she tosses the scroll and I barely catch it, "this should interest you."

I look down at the scroll titled, _'Water bending in Self Defense - Volume One. Master Arhak, 30 AAG.' _[1]

I open my mouth to thank the girl but she's already gone. I turn back to the merchant whose eyes light up at the scroll.

"Oh, thank the spirits," he whispered, I cock my head and the small man blushes slightly, "I apologize, Fire Nationals tend to not want literature such as these, they like to think that they know all they need to know," he smiles slightly and looks down at the two scrolls with a slight frown, "I think I could do two pieces of gold for these two."

"Hm…" I say with a frown, "could you do one gold and five silvers?"

The merchant smiles but tuts all the same, "My dear girl, if you're going to try and cheat me like the ferret smith down the street I would speak with him. No, no," he grins broadly but looks back down at the scrolls, "but for such a good customer, I'll go one gold and eighteen silvers."

And the bartering was on. Eventually, we settled for the price of a gold piece and thirteen silvers for him and scrolls on healing and basic self-defense for me and Percy to practice with… well, more like for me to practice with. Percy's a prodigy with water bending on his own.

I step out of the shop to see Percy bolting away with a bolt of fire chasing him and a silver blur flipping end over end toward Percy. My jaw drops at the scene as the girl I was just talking to hurls knife after knife toward my best friend as he bolts like a frightened wolf, possibly even faster, from the town square.

_**Suki I**_

"Is that White Dragon tea!" An old man calls boisterously from the door.

"Yes, sir! Freshly imported from the Earth Kingdom this afternoon! Three silver bolts for a cup," the owner bows as I sip at my sugared black tea.

"Oh _my, _might I ask what that is you're drinking, young lady?" the rotund, jolly man asked with a bright smile that I easily returned.

"Black tea with three sugars, master…"

"Mushi," the man smiles brightly, "just a passing traveler."

"As am I," I grin and gesture for the man to take a seat which he gratefully does.

"Ohh, thank you miss…"

"Suki," I say simply.

"And where are you traveling from, Suki?"

"Kyoshi Island, can't exactly go home anymore since the Fire Nation attacked."

"You were there during the assault?"

I glance up at the man and nod, "yes. I was the commander of the warriors at the time, after that fight though…"

The man's eyes softened at that, "yes… the attack on Kyoshi was a tragedy. I knew a man who was on the last surviving ship," I chuckle ruefully at that.

"The one the Avatar let go?" his yellow eyes meet my blue-grey and he nods mournfully.

"Yes… the attack on Kyoshi was horrible for both the Islanders and the men of the Southern Fleet," my eyes snap up as he looks out the window.

"Southern Fleet?" I ask quietly.

"Aye," the old man said, looking down into his cup, "the Fire Nation doesn't have too many ships, at the moment there are under three hundred and a century is dedicated to defending her shores."

"And they sent thirty to fight against a small island that helped feed your depot?" His eyes snap up at the word _your._

"I'm sorry, miss, I'm not sure I understand."

"It's in the eyes, Iroh," the man's eyes sharpened even further, "the only people with golden eyes are from the Fire Nation and the Avatar told us about a prince and a fat man that he was with that he called his _Uncle Iroh. _Judging by the look on your face, you haven't played cards in a long time… _You_ were on that ship," I smirk as the man smiles broadly but the smile doesn't reach his eyes.

"And what would the world say," he says quietly, "two people who were enemies are sitting in a Fire Nation trading post drinking tea together."

"I think that they would believe it an excellent fantasy," I shrug slightly, "I also think that your fleet destroyed my home and thanks to that I'm across the world looking for answers as to why," my eyes bore into the man across the table.

He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair, "the mission was to retrieve the Avatar and get out, once the artillery was ordered though… well. There wasn't anything I could do, a retired Fire Nation general and the disgraced Dragon of the West," he shakes his head making my eyes widen in horror.

'_Iroh Azulonson, _that _Iroh! Oh, Percy, you're a dead man when I get my hands on you…'_

The man laughs hysterically at the look on my face, "yes, yes, _that _Dragon of the West. I'm the only man to have slain dragons and defeated the great seven. The masters of Dawn, Noon, Dusk, three masters at once and the Fire Lord Azulon himself…" he looks out into the distance once again before rising to his feet, "you remind me of my niece, strong of spirit and intentions. I hope you find what you are looking for, Warrior of Kyoshi… and for what it's worth, I'm sorry about your home." Iroh steps out the door, leaving his full cup on the table.

I drain the rest of my tea and bolt out the door behind him only to see Percy standing next to a beautiful raven-haired girl walking from an alley arm in arm but Percy's eyes are hard, scanning the crowd for threats, _'is that Iroh's niece?' _Is the only thought I have as I make my way back to where I know Appa is, if Iroh finds Percy - we'll need him.

**Percy VII**

'_Unbelievable, unbe-fucking-lievable! Iroh, here of all places! I need to be under the radar but _NO! _Iroh, Prince of the Fire Nation, is here in this dingy little trading post in the middle o- _HOLY DICKBALLS THAT'S HOT!' I jump sideways to avoid the torrent of fire nipping at my heels.

I put even more speed into the run, just trying to get the hell away from the old fart chasing me. But I feel something bounce off my back, I look down and see something that sends a blot of true terror through me, _'if that dagger had managed to hit even a couple of inches lower I would be a dead man," _I turn around to face the three charging after me with my face a blank mask.

"Iroh, Azula, and… I don't believe we've met yet," I say to the tall girl with knives glistening between her fingers.

"Mai," her golden eyes are just as dull as her emotionless mask, "it's a pleasure."

"We just want to talk, Avatar," Azula says in a slightly cold voice.

"Really?" I raise my eyebrow at the sight of the knives in Mai's hands and the fire dancing on Iroh's knuckles, "because your friend tried to impale me and grandpa there looks like he wants to make me roast Percy," I scoff.

"Uncle actually," Azula says with a shrug and I almost freeze.

"You're Zuko's sister," it's not a question.

"I am, and you killed him," I actually have to blink a few times at that, Iroh looks just as surprised, and Mai looks murderous and… sad? Oh… By the gods… _'hell hath no fury,' _indeed.

"You're angry," I say raising my hands, "I get that. You want to talk, alright," I lock eyes with Azula, "let's talk."

"You'll come with us?" Mai asked genuinely surprised.

"Maybe, and maybe you'll ask your friend to come off of that roof behind me."

"Awww! That's no fun!" the high pitched voice calls out. A pink blur flashed over my shoulder, flipping through the air like a demonic, pink monkey.

The girl lands perfectly beside Azula and turns back around, her braid cutting through the air like a demented rope.

"There!" I say with a false smile, "now we're getting somewhere!"

"_Percy!" _Katara's voice calls out from behind me, I turn my head when I catch her in my peripheral, "you're alright?" her eyes meet mine and I nod.

"Thank goodness," Sokka's voice called out as he moved to flank my right side, "I thought the crazy girl knocked you out too."

I cock my eyebrow at the guy beside me wondering what he meant.

"Hey cutie!" the girl in pink smiled and waved at Sokka, I would have laughed if I hadn't just seen her do a perfect 1080 flip from the top of that building and Sokka just said she knocked him out like a light bulb.

"Do I wanna know?" I ask Sokka with my eyes never leaving Iroh or Azula.

"Met in the clothing store," he mutters.

"And Katara and I met in the book shop," Mai said dryly, "if I had known she traveled with the Avatar I wouldn't have bothered with a book shop for a story."

I can't help the smile that crossed my face as Katara blushed.

"So here we are," I raise my arms and step forward, "just the seven of us. What else could we possibly want for a friendly get together?"

"A good pot of tea would be wonderful," Iroh said with a broad grin.

"Would you like Black or White Dragon?" A heavenly familiar voice called out much to Iroh's shock. Suki landed Appa right behind us, "well Iroh, hope we can share a cup of tea one day but right now we need to be heading North," she brings her hand up in a wave as I bring my own up toward Katara's waterskin. With it I make a platform to make a platform of ice underneath us and a shield of water in front of us.

"Now ladies, and Iroh," I say down to the group blasting fire at us, "I would love to speak but," I look down at my wrist and say, "we're a little behind schedule," we set down on Appa and I bring up a bigger water screen to defend against Mai's death razors and Iroh's dragon fire. "Until we meet again!" Appa turns around and rockets North but my eye contact with Azula never breaks.


	11. Poisoned Winds, Raging Fires

**I do not own ATLA or PJO… That being said, the long awaited confrontation has arrived! Please enjoy **_**Raging Fires…**_

**XXX**

**Percy VIII**

"We need to put down," Sokka said in a strained voice.

"Why?" Suki asked with a look of confusion.

"Something's not right," he says, looking a bit green. "Ever since Ty Lee hit me I've felt… off…" he said.

I nod and move to the front of the saddle and eventually to Appa's neck. We've been following the river for almost an hour and the only thing we've seen so far are trees, the river, and deep mud. I try to find a clearing to set down in but there's no good place to do that. "Sokka, it may be a few minutes buddy," I call back over my shoulder, I look back to see him nod from his place at the side of the saddle and the boy doesn't look good, "Appa," I nearly shout, "we need more speed, buddy!" Appa roars before doing his equivalent of a sprint.

I keep a lookout for anything, any place we can use as a landing zone. I almost lose hope of finding dry land to put down on when I see the most glorious sight I could think of at that moment, a hut.

"Appa! Put down next to the house!"

"House!? What house?" I hear Katara yelp as she rushes up next to me, she works her jaw up and down for a few minutes before simply saying, "oh…"

Appa quickly lands, thankfully before Sokka was too weak to not get off of Appa on his own.

"State your business here!" A sharp voice called out. I look around to try and find the threats but there's nothing… I glance around while calling out,

"I am Perseus! We are here to find help for my friend," I gesture to a now very pale Sokka, "we were attacked at the trading post downriver. In the attack, my friend was attacked by an acrobat that moved faster than I would have believed possible," an old man with a strange goatee and mustache - along with a huge afro - stepped out of the hut with an expression that could have been carved from stone.

"This attacker, describe her," the man barked.

"She was about this tall," I bring my hand to about midchest level, "grey eyes and long, brown hair. She was accompanied by Azula and Iroh of the royal family of the Fire Nation and another girl named Mai."

The man's eyes bugged out as a platoon of men garbed in ghillie suit prototypes and armed with simple spears - good steel heads mounted on wooden poles - stepped out of the woods.

"The Princess and the Dragon are coming here?" The man asked quietly.

"Yes, but they will not be here for at least another day. We have time to prepare, we will help you defend this settlement if you can help us with our friend," I say darkly.

"And how can you help us?" a voice called from my left.

"I've beaten Iroh once already, I've crushed the Southern Fire Fleet, and I survived an encounter with the princess already. Who here can claim any of those things?" I look around before settling my eyes on the scarred old man, "can you?"

The man shakes his head, "no, I cannot claim any of those, Avatar. Your stories have preceded you, come. There is much we must discuss," he said before turning back to the hut.

I look back at Suki with a small frown and nod to Sokka, "find him a place to lay down, if he doesn't he's going to fall on his face."

Suki nods in agreement but before she hurries off with Katara, her lips crash against mine, "I'll help with the Bonehead," she says with our foreheads pressed together, "you go see what you can learn here and now."

I nod to her as she hurries off with Katara, the two of them struggling to keep Sokka upright as they follow a man to a campfire. I watch them go before I step into the hut.

The inside of the hut was dark except for the semi-circle of candles the man was sitting behind.

"I am Jeong Jeong," the man said simply, "former Admiral of the Fire Navy and Firebender ranked High Master. I am known as the Deserter, the first who left the Fire Navy and still lives to tell the tale. You have discipline, you have honor… I see that in you, but you have not mastered the earth or air yet Earth answers your call and you have used the fire, have you not?"

"I have," I say simply as I go to my knees in front of him, "in the Senlin province. I incinerated the corpses of Fire Nation soldiers but I wasn't in complete control of my actions at the time, the Avatar State is a strange thing…" I say with a far off look.

"Indeed it is," the man said, "and it is a conversation for another time, but I shall teach you Firebending. You will need it in your fight against the savages raiding these land… We both know the Fire Nation marches slowly but the true threat is the one unseen, the wind that kills with just a breath…" we lock eyes and I nod.

"The Air Raiders," I say, "what do you know about them?"

"I know they're in the area, that they are closing in. They may move like the wind but they wreak death and havoc like a storm, but even a storm can be watched and tracked from afar. We have traced their movements and now… now we are trapped between the Sons of Agni and the Winds of Doom," the man shakes his head but I give a bloodthirsty grin.

"I've been chasing these Winds of Doom from Kyoshi to Omashu to Senlin and across the gods be damned world," I say to the man, "show me where they are and we'll be on our way."

"You do not wish to learn Firebending?" Jeong Jeong asks with a look of genuine surprise on his face.

"I do, but I've seen what those cunt Raiders can do, they need to be ended before I learn something as devastating as Firebending."

"You understand the power, good!" the master said, "Fire is destruction yet it is life. Without fire we would have no warmth, but the fire will grow uncontrollably if you let it… It is better if you start learning now," the master said, "if you wait but a day the Poison Winds will blow to us."

I smile at the thought before my face turns stony once more, "before I start learning anything, I need to see to my friend. I've never seen anything like it before," I stroke my chin thinking about Sokka.

"I have," the old man said, "his chi is unbalanced. He was attacked by a chi blocker was he not?" the man asked.

I just shrug helplessly, "possibly? I haven't ran into one before."

"Not unexpected," Jeong Jeong strokes his beard, our eyes locking as he goes on, "they are rare outside the Fire Nation and even more so outside the ranks of Agni's Fist. There is one Chi Blocker in each squad, they are usually in command of each and are known to be well respected and feared by their men."

"Hold up," I say with a raised hand, "what's Agni's fist?"

The man's eyes are wide as he stares at me almost dumbfounded, "you have not met them yet?"

"No," I say cautiously.

"Then you have been lucky thus far… Agni's fist is the Fire Lord's personal company of troops. They are called a division but there are only a hundred men - no more, no less" the man snorts in what could have been amusement, "I was the admiral of the Eastern Fleet, I had twelve thousand men under my command and answered to the High Admiral and the Fire Lord alone, I never met the infamous Company. No, I was deemed unimportant in their eyes until the day I deserted… Now I have a squadron from the most elite warriors in the Fire Nation after me, and I would have assumed after you as well had the Fire Lord not sent Iroh, Azula, and the Chi Blocker to find you… A more lethal team I cannot imagine," the old man whispered.

"There are four actually," I shrug, "they have a knife thrower too."

The man nods slowly, "yes, that does not surprise me…" and suddenly I'm distinctly uncomfortable.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask slowly, his eyes widen but his face relaxes into a more thoughtful position.

"You would not know… Iroh is the Dragon of the West, most believe he received the title from hunting the last of the dragons but that is not the case," his eyes are blazing now, "to understand this story, you must understand a piece of our culture." I nod in acceptance and the man continues on, "firebenders receive ranks. From ages four to ten there are three, every two years they are promoted in rank until they are to enter an apprenticeship at age eleven. Thus, every firebending child is equal until their first decade has been completed. The learner, beginner, and apprentice levels are not earned, they are given and a firebender will be given nothing more by a master save their education. An apprenticeship is granted to every firebender, be it their own parent, a family friend, or one of the great masters of the nation, it matters not - they will be apprenticed.

"This is for the safety of all within the nation, a Firebender who is controlled by their element is a terrible thing indeed," the man's eyes look haunted as he soldiers on, "the apprenticeship ranks are different to the ranks of a beginner with the three ranks being that of a practitioner, fit to serve, and journeyman. The rank of Practitioner is usually granted between the ages of twelve and fourteen, those Fit For Service can be given this title at any time between ages sixteen and twenty-one and are able to serve in the Grand Army of the Fire Nation. None who are ranked below this rank are able to serve, do you understand?" I nod at the man whose eyes are hard as steel.

"Yeah, you're saying that they're well trained but they can leave their master at that rank… but can they come back to the master?" The man smiles broadly at the question.

"They are allowed that right, yet most choose not to do so, like my own apprentice Zhao," I cock my eyebrow at the man, "the commander of the Southern Fleet, he only had command of fifteen ships yet there is a contingency order allowing emergency powers of an Admiral to the highest-ranked sailor on base in case of three events, though he will have to face the Fire Lord to answer why he did this. But Zhao may have been promoted to admiral for his fast action in moving to capture you…" Jeong Jeong frowns heavily while looking to the candle, "he was noble-born and I granted him his Service rank at age eighteen, he stayed with me just long enough to learn the destructive power of Firebending."

"What are the other ranks?" I ask while leaning forward.

"Curious are you?" Jeong Jeong smirks, "after a man earns his Service, he can become a Journeyman and after that he shall enter the masterly ranks, the ranks where a student leaves his master. The Warriors, the Children of Agni, and the Masters. These ranks are earned in Agni Kai, a fire duel. The Warriors are the Fire Nation's elite firebenders, they are able to apply to become palace guards and are few of the only men the Fire Lord would trust with his safety. Children of Agni," Jeong Jeong strokes his beard with a small smile, "the fondest memories of mastership are found here to most Firebenders, the rank where you stand above most yet are still able to sharpen your skills against the masters; be they true, high, or great. Now!" the man snapped jerking my drifting mind back to him, "pay attention as best you can, young Avatar. I have seen your eyes drifting, you are a warrior… this I understand, warriors do not sit still."

I blush slightly but nod all the same, willing myself to listen to him, "good, you have disciplined yourself well but your body fights you all the same… A lesson for another time," he mutters almost to himself before his attention comes back to me, "the masters, ranks coveted by all within the Fire Nation. Some men fight for their entire lives to get the chance to duel a master to earn their rank as a master, some men never make it off the battlefield. It is the tragedy of life," he sounds almost regretful, "true masters are the chosen who have dedicated their lives to their craft, the ones who take the children and shape the future of the Fire Nation. The high masters, like myself, are the upper echelon of the Fire Nation command. Admirals are rarely found without this rank, but those who have succeeded without the rank deserve their achievement. We are the strongest fighters the Fire Nation can deploy in force. Now, the great masters…" he sighs and places his head in his hands.

"The champions of dawn, noon, and dusk. Of three they are and three no more shall be. They are the Fire Lord's governors, their authority almost unchallenged with only two are higher than they," he looks up and meets my eyes, "the Fire Lord and the Dragon, of each there are only one. Ozai Azulonson, the Fire Lord who sits on the blazing throne and Iroh Azulonson, the Dragon in the West. He who has defeated Dawn, Noon, and Dusk in single combat with masters three after them shall face the Fire Lord, should he come out victorious he shall earn the rank of Dragon."

My eyes widen so much I think they may fall out of my head, "you're telling me that the fat old man that tried to immolate me isn't only a Prince but the most distinguished firebender _in the world?"_

"A decorated General and a friend of mine as well," the man sounds almost regretful as I clutch my head between my hands.

"At least there's some good news to this…" I say bitterly.

"Azula is ranked as a Warrior," I freeze _'what a way to rip the band-aid off,' _the thought passes like acid through my head, "she was a prodigal firebender by age six, her masters were so impressed that they progressed her through the ranks faster than any child had a right to, but she has proven her metal in single combat. She has been a Warrior for nearly a year now, once she learns the secrets of the Fire Lords though… I fear that not even you will be able to stand against such a formidable force of a Chi Blocker and two prodigal Firebenders."

I cock my eyebrow slightly, "what about the knife thrower, she could kill me just as easily as the other three could."

"That I do not deny, though I believe her to be the least of your problems." I nod thoughtfully but steer the conversation back to our earlier topic.

"The Air Raiders," the old firebender's eyes harden, "how will fire help me defeat someone that moves like the wind itself? I've fought fast opponents but Air Benders are mind-boggling."

Jeong Jeong stares at me with hard, cold eyes before sighing, his eyes returning to their normal state, "on that score, I cannot help you, Avatar. But I know this, we must eliminate this blight root and stem."

"I hate killing, but I'm with you," I reach my hand out to the master, he looks at it curiously before reaching up and clasping it in his own.

"And I, you. Come," he says while standing up, "we must see to your friend, if he is not already better then his Aether Chakra is in imbalance. It is common to see this mistake with starting Chi Blockers but the process to rebalance it is troublesome," he says as we stride out of the hut together to where we think the rest of our crew is at. We find them with Sokka lying down next to the fire, Katara worrying her lip while kneeling next to her brother's head.

"Suki," I ask the Kyoshi Warrior, "can I talk to you for a second?" I glance around the assembled circle, "privately?"

Our eyes meet and she nods. I reach my hand down to her, she takes it but doesn't let it go as we make our way down to the river. I glance around trying to find Appa but he's nowhere in sight, I sigh and bring a ball of ice around us to soundproof this conversation. Suki raises her eyebrow at me.

"What is it, Percy?" she almost snaps, taking me back for a second.

"Did I do something to piss you off?" I ask quietly.

"No, why do you think that?" I blink a few times, and shake my head.

"You're just a bit snappy, but that's not why I asked you for this conversation," I sigh running my fingers through my hair before meeting her eyes once again, "we know Azula is coming from downriver, but the problem is we have another problem coming in from the east. The Raiders are here, or will be in a day," her eyes harden just as much as mine.

"Then our hunt is over?" She sounds almost excited but I shake my head.

"No, it's not over until we put those rabid dogs down once and for all," Suki nods in acknowledgment as our eyes meet once again. She sighs gently before looking at the ground and then back up at me.

"Why were you with Azula earlier today?" and that's when things click.

"I ran into her in a terrible smithy, you know how I've been visiting every single one that I can find," she nods in acknowledgment, "she was trying to get her dagger fixed but the shit smith couldn't even do that much," I shake my head in disbelief, "we left the shop together and she asked about the Raiders," understanding dawns on her face, "we _all _know that talking about them in public is a _horrible _idea. I think I may have gotten her to see a bit too from my perspective too, I know I sort of see from hers. Honestly, I had no idea she was the princess, I thought she was just a random firebender not _her." _I massage my forehead in exasperation, "most importantly was the nugget I got on Fire Nation honor," I can't help but roll my eyes at the thought.

"Then we know how to defeat them," Suki sounds a bit excited at that.

"But we also know that they won't stop until they take over the world," Suki actually raises her eyebrow at that little nugget of information, "you know what she told me?" Suki shakes her head at the question, "Justice, Loyalty, Dignity, Courage, and Power, is what she said… But I have a feeling that she left out sheer determination," Suki nods thoughtfully as she sits beside the river.

"Wonderful," she growls, "so, not only do we have a group of murderers and rapists to deal with but a nation of fanatics…" she sighs before putting her head in her hands, "do we really have to fight this? I mean, we could find somewhere quiet in the Earth Kingdom or in the Northern Water Tribe and just settle down," she says bitterly but smiles all the same as our eyes lock again.

"That would be nice," I sigh and sit down beside her, "tell you what," I rib her with my elbow gently, "once all _this," _I wave my hand around randomly, "is finished, we'll do just that."

"Promise?" she smiles gently, leaning toward me already.

"I do," I whisper as the distance between us closes.

_**Later…**_

"The power of firebending comes from the breath, master your breathing and you will master the flame," master Jeong Jeong said as we sat down across from each other on the top of the small mountain nearby camp, "close your eyes, in through the nose and out through the mouth. _Feel _the fire within you… the spark of life…" he whispers as I search within myself. Whenever I control water I feel a twist in my gut, what would fire feel like?

My lips purse at the feeling of warmth filling my body with each breath. My breathing nearly stops as I finally find the fire within but there's something not quite right… I reach for it but feel the earth below me start to twist and writhe gently but the fire's nowhere in reach. I can see it, I can feel it, but I can't touch it. I keep breathing as I reach for the fire once again.

"Stop!" Jeong Jeong called out, "stop or the mountain will fall around us!" my eyes snap open only to see the master was right, the rock around us was rough and loose when I started but now it looks like it's made of glass of a rather unfortunate color.

"Wha- How?" I ask in absolute bewilderment.

"You bent the Earth, Avatar. Have you done this before?" Jeong Jeong whispered.

"I can make the earth shake but I haven't been able to truly bend it yet."

"Hmmm…" Jeong Jeong whispered, "your opposite element is fire, it will be hard for you to learn. You should be excellent at bending the air but the earth should be almost as hard… So how did you bend the Earth without meaning to?" Jeong Jeong strokes his beard slowly.

'_Well, Dad was known as the Earthshaker, that may have something to do with it?' _I think to myself with a bit of bad humor.

"Perhaps... perhaps you should learn the earth and air before you learn the inner fire," Jeong Jeong said quietly.

"I think that would be a good idea," I say back just as quietly.

"Perhaps one day I shall have the honor of teaching you one day, young Avatar, but you are not going to learn tonight… Rest, we have a battle to fight tomorrow," Jeong Jeong said while looking around at the glassed mountain top. I just nod in agreement but look down the mountain over the river and jungle.

"Alright, but I want to watch the sunset tonight," I said offhandedly, watching the sun sinking in the sky.

"As is the joy of every Firebender," Jeong Jeong said quietly. Together, we rise to our feet and watch the sun fall, "firebenders, we rise with the sun and gain our strength from it… We are all the children of Agni, the rank actually was named after the firebenders whose talent truly was incredible."

"Is that so?" I asked just as reverently.

"Aye," Jeong Jeong said, "we are the warriors of the sky, warriors of Fire itself," the man sighed quietly.

"Hm… Your nation has a rich tradition."

"And a long history. We are the men of fire, the daughters of the sky, we are the children of Agni and the legacy of the Dragons," Jeong Jeong said, "the water tribes have forgotten much, the Earth Kingdoms are not interested in history preferring their farms and their fighting… not that the Fire Nation dislikes a good fight," he smiled brightly.

"Oh? How so?" I feel my ears perk up at that.

"You would do well to remember a man by the name of Piandao, young Avatar," Jeong Jeong said with a bright smile, "he's a master swordsman and an even better smith. When you learn Firebending, perhaps you could apprentice under him," he smiles even brighter and my own matches his.

"I'll have to do just that," I turn to Jeong Jeong and smile brightly at him as the sun sinks below the horizon.

_**The Next Morning…**_

The calm before the storm… a strange concept, for certain. Some sailors claim that before the most terrifying storms the sea becomes as flat as a pane of glass, others claim there to be a roiling, writhing, primordial force just below the waves that are just as much of a danger to you than the mountains of water forty feet high. Others… others say the most monstrous storms come with little warning and even less time for preparation.

You can find parallels to this in life pretty much everywhere, mostly in war strangely enough. Men dying after just being dragged out of their tents, others falling to an unexpected arrow storm, sometimes it's as simple as a bomb on the side of the road. But what is abundantly clear is attacks that executed violently in the moment are usually _much _more effective than perfect attacks executed later, after all - there's a saying back home that says _'no plan survives first contact with the enemy.' _[1]

We had woken up an hour ago and were already on high alert knowing that the Raiders were within a mile. Suki and I were sitting by one of the fires with Jeong Jeong on my left with Katara and Sokka sitting in front of me.

I took a sausage off of a skewer over the fire, "we need to eat, guys," I said quietly.

"He's right, there's nothing to do except eat and relax… You need to conserve your energy, this fight will be terrible, especially if the Dragon and the Princess show up," the wizened master said quietly. Suki immediately took a sausage for herself, biting into it and making me wince slightly. Suki turned toward me to give a small smirk, obviously knowing what's going through my mind.

"Sokka, Katara, you need to eat too," Suki said.

"Why? We'll just be fighting in a few minutes anyway," Sokka says stubbornly.

"Because you need your strength, especially you Katara," I lock eyes with the startled Water Tribe girl, "what have you learned from the scroll?"

"A little, I was able to get a water whip going," she said quietly.

"Can you do in tandem with the water blades I taught you?"

"I've tried once, but I can't really get it down," she sighed quietly.

"You'll get it, I know you will," I grin at her before turning to Suki, "how about you?"

"The wind blades work beautifully, but I'm not sure how well they'll work in actual combat," she shrugs but smiles lightly all the same.

"That's gr-" I couldn't say the rest of my sentence as I was _blasted _off the log I was sitting on and straight into the river… a hundred yards away. Raging, I blasted out of the water like a missile toward the person that _dared _attack my friends. My eyes are blazing at the small platoon attacking the small village. I rushed into the battle, armor nowhere to be seen being replaced with plate mail made from frozen river water. If they weren't attacking my friends, their faces would have been hilarious!

I smashed into a man with the force of the tide itself, ripping through him by accident. The man fell to the ground with an awful wet splat as I threw a bolt of ice at another man charging toward me. Strangely, the fight wasn't anywhere as hard as I thought it would be. These Raiders may be _insanely _fast, but they are awful fighters. I can't help but roll my eyes as I rip through the idiots alongside my absolutely bloodthirsty girlfriend.

"Fight you cowards!" Suki screeched at the retreating platoon until she was cut off by the war cries of a full-blown battalion of Airbenders. My own eyes widened at the horror before my eyes.

"Suki! Fall back to the river!" I yelled at here and we wasted no time darting away, taking Katara, Sokka, and Jeong Jeong with us in our haste.

"What the hell is going on!?" Sokka yelled at me.

"Air Raiders, a battalion of them!" I yelled right back.

"What's a battalion!?" Sokka asked as Jeong Jeong turned sheet white.

"It means, young Sokka," Jeong Jeong said heavily, "that we're outnumbered by the Poison Winds."

"By at least thirty to one," I said gruffly, "can you take thirty airbenders, Sokka? I can take at least sixty of them as long as we stand _right here, _do you understand?"

"Yes," he says quietly.

"Good, because here they come," I say looking at the bright blue sky being darkened by men under gliders, "Jeong Jeong, what happened to your men?"

"If they aren't here, then they are already dead," the man says grimly.

"Great," I say simply, launching spears of ice toward the idiots gliding toward us, tearing three gliders to shreds and bringing a man down in an instant. I concentrate on the air around me, whipping up a hurricane around me and grounding more of the damned raiders.

The Raiders scream in pain as at least fifty are torn out of the air and into the now raging river. Those that are unfortunate enough to crash in it die in seconds thanks to the newly formed icebergs making the river into a massive - if rudimentary - blender. With those three attacks, the Raider's battalion was brought down by a third.

"What are you!?" a distinctly female voice cuts through the sounds of the raging river and dying men.

"He's the Avatar, and I think you've made him mad," my eyes snap around to the sound of the hauntingly familiar voice and my only thought was, _'how the Hades did I miss the sound of a Fire Nation cruiser approaching?'_

"Azula, are you here to fight or capture me?" I call up to the ship, "cause we could really use some back up right about now!" I calm the waters letting the ship run aground and the Fire Nation marines flow over the sides of the ship and straight onto the ground below, at least sixty men in full armor marking them as firebenders touching the ground with Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, and Iroh in the lead, evening out the odds by quite a bit.

"These are the Air Raiders you told me about?" she asked with one delicate eyebrow raised as she came chest to chest with me.

"They are, what do you want more? To finish Sozin's work or capture me?"

"You're the butcher's legacy, Kyoshi was the only one to butcher an entire Fire Nation army in the field and you want to what? Team up?" she scoffed quietly as I raise my own eyebrow.

"We can talk about what my past life did or we can take down the group of rapists and murderers standing there gawking at us," I say as the Firebenders move to encircle the group of Airbenders who are - as I said - just standing there.

"My brother has ordered you captured, Avatar," Iroh growled.

"Yes, and your grandfather ordered the Airbenders executed, which order will you follow?" I bark at him as the Airbenders start to back away. I immediately throw a globe of water over their heads and at the backs of the firebenders, trapping the Air Raiders like rats.

"I don't like you, Avatar," Iroh growled but turned to face the Airbenders, "but your cause was good. Rapists are an abomination, I will join you."

"Well spoken, Uncle!" Azula easily slipped to the side that Suki wasn't on and brought her hands up in a firebending stance. I stepped forward and all hell broke loose.

Lances of hard wind slammed into my ice breastplate, forcing me to activate my steel armor for additional protection but I don't stop launching ice spears into the fray of fire, wind, and the water balls that Katara can throw but what surprised me was Azula's ferocity. She sent ball after ball of golden fire toward the running airbenders while loosing gouts of fire toward them as well. Watching trained firebenders go to work was like watching poetry in motion, their attacks were flawless and fighting alongside them is something that I can really respect. [2]

The battle eventually petered out, though. The Airbenders may be fast and amazing at raiding but they aren't even close to trained soldiers that happen to Firebenders, the battle was over in less than ten minutes with only about eight of the Raiders surviving as they launched themselves through holes in the roof of the ice dome that the firebenders punched in it by accident.

I almost fell to my knees panting as the battle petered out to a close, the firebenders stopping their fires and centering themselves while Azula and her three companions move to face my small group of misfits.

"Avatar," Azula said, sweat dripping down her face yet still as composed as a Princess should be.

"Azula," I said not even close to as well composed, sweat dripping down my forehead as my tunic stuck to my chest behind my breastplate, "so ends the Air Raiders," I say with a small grin and I can almost feel Suki's relief at that.

"Yes, so they end…" she says thoughtfully, "you didn't lie to me."

"Again I ask, why would I lie?" I smirk slightly remembering our conversation yesterday.

"Yesterday I was a nobody bender and you were a nobody from the Water Tribe, today you're the Avatar and I'm the princess of the Fire Nation. Things have changed drastically, Avatar, and if my dearly departed brother were still with us he would tell you something about me, _I always lie," _she sounds almost bitter with that last remark but I pay it no heed.

"Yet why should I? I only benefit from telling the truth here, and you saw the truth of the Air Raiders. We don't know if there are more of them but I wouldn't think there are," I say with a shrug of my own, "yet here we are still, the princess sent to hunt me and her group of sycophants," my eyes are hard as ice and I know they are, Azula seems almost startled and turns bright red before she closes her eyes and takes a breath, "we fought alongside each other, why hunt me?" I ask quietly, holding out my hand like I did for Jeong Jeong, "join us, please," I say even quieter.

The entire battlefield turns absolutely silent as Iroh looks down at my hand in shock while Mai and Ty Lee look like I smacked them with a trout. Azula though… "And why should I join you? One alliance in a battle in order to defeat a common enemy does not make for a friendship, Avatar."

"No, and the order of a mad man doesn't mean you have to chase me across the entire planet either," I say dryly, pulling my arm down to my side and strangely the _entire _platoon stiffened.

"My father is the voice of the Fire Nation, when he says go we are to say where," Azula says simply and suddenly everything clicks into place. _'Great, this isn't a monarchy, this is a damned dictatorship.'_

"So be it, perhaps in good faith of our alliance today you will allow us to go free and I can put your ship back into the river," I say quietly.

"That man," Azula points to Jeong Jeong, "is a deserter to the Fire Nation, as such he is an enemy of the Blazing Throne. The penalty for desertion is death or Agni Kai against the Great Masters and the Fire Lord himself, why would we let him go?" she cocks her head at me curiously.

"Because he helped fight against a threat to the Fire Nation, his issue is not with you. His issue is against this _Blazing Throne _as you call it," I tell the girl as Suki wraps her arm around mine, "my offer still stands, Azula, please take it. I don't want to sink your ship, Hades, I don't even want to hurt you," I nearly beg the girl and her hard amber eyes soften slightly.

"Then you have this boon, but the next time we meet I will attempt to capture you. For the honor of the Fire Nation, I will bring you in, Avatar. Do you understand me?" Her eyes are blazing again as I nod.

"I do," I push her ship into the deeper water and using my best NYC cabby whistle to call Appa in. The Sky Bison roared as he landed in the river behind us. Katara, Sokka, Jeong Jeong, and Suki loaded onto Appa's saddle first as I stood my ground in front of the old man and three girls, "I wish you good fortune, may you go with the Spirits," I feel Appa launch from the river and I dive in, using the water to propel myself up and into the saddle while giving the Firebenders a small salute.

"Percy!" Sokka screeched, "Why didn't you take them out then and there!?"

"I'm tired, Sokka, even Avatar's can get gassed…" I say as I put my head into Suki's lap, thankfully Katara took up Appa's reins, "we were lucky that they showed up, if they didn't…" I let the thought wander off as I wonder what could have possibly happened if we didn't.

"Percy, are we going to head straight to the North Pole?" Katara calls back to me.

"No, girl," Jeong Jeong answers in my stead, "we will have to put down in the mountains and then the Northern Air Temple. It will take us at least three days to make the full journey at the Bison's current pace."

I nod in acceptance of this, knowing we can't really fly at night and that Jeong Jeong knows this world _much _better than I do.

"Alright, Jeong Jeong," I say, "we'll do just that. First this Northern Air Temple and then… then the North Pole."

**XXX**

**[1] First half of a quote by Tim Hartford and based on Prussian General Helmuth von Moltke the Elder who made a similar quote.**

**[2] Yes, I know Azula has blue fire but this **_**is**_** an intentional choice on my part.**


	12. Overdue Conversation

**I do not own PJO or ATLA, please enjoy **_**Overdue Conversation...**_

**Percy IX**

"Percy," Sokka asked, "when the Raiders showed up… why didn't you take them out like you took out the Firebenders at Kyoshi?" the boy asked, startling me for a second. We landed for the night in the middle of a valley, we'll make our way up to the Northern Air Temple at dawn and pray the group of assassins doesn't catch up to us in the meantime.

"Honestly? Because I didn't think about it, but that takes a _lot _of energy Sokka. I was nearly dead on my feet after the Invasion of Kyoshi and I was expecting the princess and her posse to show up, which they did. If I exhausted myself before she came around and they wanted to fight us, what could I do?" I ask the boy but only Jeong Jeong doesn't seem too surprised.

"You conserved your energy, good," the master said, "Ty Lee and Mai… I underestimated them," he said grimly. I raise a questioning eyebrow at the man who's staring into the campfire.

"How so?" Katara asked the obvious question.

Jeong Jeong's cold eyes look up at me as he says, "Ty Lee brought down twelve airbenders, the fastest men and women on the planet and she brought down twelve by herself. Mai took down seven with knives alone, and four of those were taken out of midair," He looks at each of us before turning back to me, "we didn't exterminate the Raiders like we had hoped to do, now we must wonder what they will do now that most of their people have been killed. The Raiders and the Fire Nation were our threats most obvious, now tell me? Who do we concentrate our attention on?"

"The Fire Nation!" Sokka answered _much _too quickly but I stayed silent, thinking about what to worry over next.

"No, Sokka," I whispered, "no, we have to deal with Azula next. I could kill them as easily as bugs but what if I'm not around and they capture you? They know how strong I am, would they keep you alive in trade for me doing their little song and dance routine? Or would they kill you just to get to me?" I lock eyes with Sokka, seeing the shock and twinge of horror in them. "I don't know what they would do, Azula is the princess of the Fire Nation and is loyal to her father… but what the Hades happened to Zuko? Why do we have his _sister _of all people hunting us?" my eyes meet Suki's and then Katara's before coming back to Jeong Jeong's.

"The Prince is dead, that is undeniable…" Jeong Jeong said, "in fact, my last day as an Admiral of the Fire Nation was at his funeral," he strokes his beard and looks up at me, "it was said that you killed him, that he was the last survivor of Kyoshi and escaped with his Uncle."

"Go free?" Suki asked incredulously, "no Firebender that came ashore left that day, my girls made sure they were dead… no, something else happened to Zuko."

"But what?" Sokka asked.

"I am unsure, I do know that my old friend Iroh claimed he was slain by a demon and Azula's firebending is off…" Jeong Jeong knits his brows together while thinking up a possible solution.

"Firebending is off?" Sokka asked incredulously, "her's was the hottest on the field, how was it off?"

"Firebending is not powered by the breath alone, young Sokka," the master says quietly, "it is Justice, Loyalty, Dignity, Courage, Power, Will, and Determination, the Seven Pillars of Agni…"

My eyes nearly bulge out of my head as I look at Suki, "wait, wait, wait!" I say to the old man, "if the first of those five make up your honor, why would the last two not?"

"Because, young Avatar, willpower and determination are stumbling blocks every firebender must master but they are not of honor. Honor is Justice to your enemies, Loyalty to your liege, Dignity in the face of adversity, Courage in the face of overwhelming odds, and the Power to dominate fire to your wishes. Will and Determination are simply the will to make your internal dragon roar and the determination to control it, those are not honorable traits."

That leaves me gaping like a fish, these people will _never _stop because honor demands they follow their liege - the Fire Lord - as honor demands they never stop fighting no matter the odds, and honor demands that no opponent is too large to take on.

"_We're fucked…" _I whisper as everyone turns their heads to me curiously.

"What was that you just said, Avatar?" Jeong Jeong asked, leaving me confused before I realized I switched to Greek. I wave my hand at them and say, "it's nothing, don't worry about it… But what you just told us isn't good."

"No," the master said quietly, "I suppose it's not."

"What are we going to do then?" Sokka asked quietly.

"We're going to make it to the North Pole before they can kill us first," I say.

"Why don't you just kill them, Percy?" I actually look up at Sokka with my jaw on the floor, but surprisingly everyone has the same grimly determined look as Sokka.

"Because, when we were fighting at Kyoshi I had no choice but to go all out. It was six hundred benders and eighteen hundred sailors against thirty Kyoshi warriors, Katara, and me, what else could I do?" I sigh and press my hand to my forehead, "I _hate _killing, I'm good at it but I hate it. If I have to kill those four I will, but I don't want to," I say quietly.

"Why not!? They've already tried to kill you," Sokka says heatedly.

"All of them but Azula," I say even quieter but it rings around the campsite like a clap of thunder as everyone realizes the truth in that statement.

"Shouldn't she be the one out for revenge _the most _if you really killed her brother?" Katara asked quietly.

"No," Jeong Jeong said, "Iroh would be the angriest, as he rightfully is. He is out to avenge the boy he saw as a son, everyone in court knew that Ozai had no love for the boy. Threw him out the first chance he had in fact…"

"How so?" I ask. Jeong Jeong just sighs and massages his temples thoughtfully.

"From a young age, it is known that Prince Zuko was no prodigal firebender. A shame onto Ozai's reputation, a shame to the line of Sozin," his voice is ice but the cracks are audible, "the strongest firebenders are known to be from the royal line, with the true prodigies being able to master blue fire," his eyes lock with mine and that immediately throws up a '_look at me, I'm important!' _Banner in the air, "but Zuko had not mastered something as simple as a candle until age six. Azula, on the other hand, was a true prodigy. She was able to bend fire to her will at age four and mastered the blue flames at eleven summers," he said quietly making me raise my eyebrow.

"Then why was she bending golden flames today?"

"I do not know," Jeong Jeong said thoughtfully, "perhaps it is her grief at her brother's death, perhaps she has found another truth she cannot handle? I know not… but I do know that Zuko faced the Firelord in an Agni Kai as Zuko had shamed his father when he was but thirteen."

"Shamed his dad?" Sokka asked surprised, "how does that lead to a fight with the Firelord?"

"Sokka, a prince is the son of a king, bout the same as a chief or - more importantly - a Lord of a country, who does that make Zuko's dad?" I asked the boy who's eyes widened in recognition.

"Alright, that makes sense," he grudgingly admits, "but what does an Agni Kai have to do with this?"

"An Agni Kai is a fire duel, Sokka," Jeong Jeong says quietly, and now Sokka's eyes widen in horror.

"That's barbaric!" Katara squealed, "what father would make his own son fight him!?"

"He's a functional psychopath," I say quietly, remembering a few of Annabeth's words, "sorry, _that _is an _entirely _different conversation."

"I'm sure," Jeong Jeong sounds slightly amused as his face darkens, "Ozai was offended that Zuko _dared _stand up for a company of new soldiers who would be ordered to face off with an enemy to pull their enemies into a trap, although the trap would have seen an entire company crushed beneath the Earth Kingdom's sandal's."

"So," Suki says, "he had to fight his dad who, from what you're telling us, is a master firebender?"

"Yes," the master said simply, "the fight was short and but it was brutal. Zuko fell to his knees when his opponent was revealed, he thought the fight would be against the general he shamed with his words but it was not to be. Zuko valued his family too much to fight his father, even though it was his mother who truly loved him… the fight was over with one attack. Ozai's words will haunt me for the rest of my days, _you will learn respect _he said _and suffering will be your teacher…_ those were the last words he said before he brought his fist down over his son's eye."

"That's how he got his scar," I whisper in absolute horror. Sure, dad wasn't around much but I know that he loved me in his own godly way but Zuko's dad just sounds too much like sweaty Gabe for my liking.

"Indeed. The Firelord told a thirteen-year-old boy that he had lost his honor and the only way to regain that honor was to capture the Avatar."

"That's why he was hunting us," Sokka says quietly, "that's why he brought in entire invasion force to Kyoshi…"

"Yes, but why wasn't he leading the charge?" Suki asked thoughtfully.

"Because Iroh didn't want to see him hurt. The sly old man knew that he would be injured or killed if he stepped foot on that island so he was on the command vessel with Iroh and Zhao, I would bet my spear on," I said to the assembled group who just nods in agreement.

"But if that's the case how did he die?" Katara asks.

"I don't want an answer to that question," I said with a realization that I desperately don't want to be true.

"You think Ozai killed him?" Jeong Jeong's voice said thoughtfully, not accusingly, but the rest of the camp jerked their heads to him in horror.

"It makes sense," I say in a disgusted whisper, "Ozai hated his son, but I doubt any sister could really hate their brother. She could be resentful of him for being the heir, but that wouldn't matter as long as Zuko was in exile. Once I came around though? I was a problem for the Fire Lord and a thorn for Azula, but the Fire Lord hates failure doesn't he?"

"He does."

"Zuko was banished and when I beat him he had no boat, no men, and lost all respect after we met. He would have been desperate and went for overkill, if he did get in contact with Zhao then they would have launched the fleet immediately. If they returned to the Fire Lord to report for Zhao's actions in taking over the Southern Fleet and Zuko was brought before him, who would he blame for the failure? A son who he hated or a promising officer of the Fire Nation?"

"By Agni..." the old master's whisper was horrified but almost like he could see the scene playing out.

"And if he was brought before the Fire Lord to report that they failed to capture the Avatar but in one attack they had not only lost thirty ships but seven thousand men? That's a small army lost in a day."

"Then it's quite possible that Azula was sent on a capture mission that Iroh sees as vengeance, if indirectly," Jeong Jeong strokes his beard thoughtfully.

"Exactly, Azula didn't seem to be in the same killing rage as Iroh, Hades, she said I killed him but what if she didn't mean directly?" I asked

"You think that she meant _you _were the reason Zuko died?" Jeong Jeong actually sounds startled as he rubs his beard all the same, "yes, yes that would be a reasonable explanation… It's also quite possible that Ozai sees your action as a direct challenge to him."

"Great," I throw my hands up, "Iroh's out for revenge for his nephew that I didn't want to see dead when I could have killed them at the South Pole or at Kyoshi… They know they can't capture me, but honor demands they do. And Ozai thinks I'm challenging him when I just want to help and protect. Man… how hard do you think it would be to get those four on our side?" I ask quietly and you can hear the crickets around the campfire, "hear me out," I say before Mount Sokka can erupt or Hurricane Katara can blow in, "Mai was either Zuko's best friend or she loved him - that look is recognizable anywhere. Iroh loved his nephew and wants vengeance - which we can give him - Ty Lee seems like a follower through and through, where Azula goes she does too, but Azula… I can't figure her out. She either wants revenge or the Throne and I'm not sure which is better for us. If she captures me she cements her claim to the throne but if she doesn't then she's as bad off as Zuko. If we could convince her to join with us against the Fire Lord then we would have legitimacy in the eyes of the Fire Nation."

"It will not be that easy," Jeong Jeong says, making me deflate, "the Blazing Throne can only be passed to a son, a daughter taking the throne must have the consent of the current Fire Lord. She is only the Heir Apparent to the Blazing Throne when by rights she should be the Heir Presumptive, if she is in rebellion against the Blazing Throne then the Fire Nation will turn their back to her until Ozai is dead without a son, if this is the case then the Throne will pass to Iroh, who could make Azula his heir."

"Wait, why _isn't _Iroh the Fire Lord?" I ask quietly.

"It was his father's dying wish, Ozai had children but Iroh had lost his son in the siege of Ba Sing Se… a bloody, terrible siege that left most of Iroh's Army broken and Iroh's son dead. Iroh retreated when he saw how badly the fight was going for him and retired from his tenure soon after."

I nod in understanding but something still feels a bit off about this… but I'm not sure what.

"This is pointless," Sokka says, "she wouldn't join us anyway, you're the enemy." I don't know why but my heart twinges at those words.

"She's not your friend, Percy," Suki whispers in my ear but I realize with a start that she's half right, I may not be her friend but she's one of mine and I'll be damned if I see her hurt.

**XXX**

"What is our strategy, princess?" I heard Iroh's familiar voice ask, I nearly facepalmed. Wonderful, demigod dreams…

"We'll hunt the Avatar, as always," Azula's sharp tongue nearly took strips off of Iroh, "we know he's with the deserter, not many more can fit on the back of that monstrosity… He won't be able to find an Earthbending master, why he didn't pick one in Omashu is beyond me…" she says quietly, and I wonder the same thing.

"Our reports say he was in the city overnight, I believe the Air Raiders were their main objective - which I applaud," Iroh says quietly.

"For real," Mai drawls, "from what little I've heard about them they're nothing but thieves and rapists."

"They are Shen's legacy for true," Iroh says, "the legacy of the Sky Tribes but cancerous, at least the Sky Tribes could claim to protect and serve the Air Temples when necessary."

"Sky Tribes?" Ty Lee asked, "who're they?"

"The military branch of the Air Nation," I can't help but roll my eyes, there's no technical nation amongst nomads, "they were the first people Fire Lord Sozin attacked in his conquest against the Air Peoples. The Air Temples were only invaded under the light of Sozin's Comet when they were crushed under heel," he said offhandedly and I almost froze, _'what, in Hades' name, is Sozin's Comet?' _

"Isn't the comet due to come around once again, Iroh?" Ty Lee asked, much to my relief. I _need _to hear this bit.

"It is," he says with a small smile, "the day before the Autumn Equinox will see the comet return and our fire will be at its peak," I want to pass out but this is just a dream.

"Uncle," Azula's biting tone cut through the air, "you know we can discuss these things at a later time."

"Why wait to create a contingency, niece?" He says with a small smirk.

"Because you never know if those contingencies may get out, or if we have a potential deserter among ourselves. If they were to find the Avatar before we did, what would happen?" She asks quietly, little did she know that they already revealed their ace.

"You are too pessimistic, Azula," Iroh says gently.

"I think she's just pessimistic enough," Mai drawls out.

"And I think our friend in the corner would like to Hi!" Ty Lee chirped making me freeze where I'm at, _'she couldn't possibly-' _she closes her eyes with a bright smile as she waves in my direction, _'yep, she sees me.'_

"Ty Lee, what are you on about?" Azula asks quietly as I try to move away.

"There's an aura in the corner, oh… it looks like he's not happy anymore, poo!" Ty Lee said in her airy way.

"An aura? You expect us to believe that?" I concentrate, wondering if I could just move a few inches… No dice.

"I hope you do," Ty Lee said quietly as she moved to be directly in my face. Iroh's face tenses as he looks at where Ty Lee's poking at my chest.

"Avatar," Iroh growls, making everyone perk up in alarm - no one more than me, "what are you doing here?"

Suddenly, I can move again. I can talk, I can breathe, I have a body - kinda… It's blue and transparent but visible, I guess? "Oh thank the gods," I whisper while clutching at my chest.

"I will ask again," Iroh growls his fist coming up wreathed in fire, "why are you here?"

"Didn't mean to be, I promise you that. I'd much rather be having a nice dream beside my wonderful girlfriend yet here I am, somehow on your ship."

"You're spirit walking by accident?" Iroh asks incredulously.

"Looks like it. Oh! Thanks for the bit on the comet, that'll definitely be helpful!" I grin as Iroh growls but Azula smirks in a bit of triumph.

"Well, well… looks like the Avatar's more crafty than I thought he would be," she snarks.

"Not like I meant to be," I shrug "believe it or not, I _don't _want to be your enemy. I just don't want people getting hurt unnecessarily," I lock eyes with Azula, "and as long as people are at peace then I'll let you be, but your Fire Lord seems a bit obsessed with bringing me down."

"He wants the greatest threat to the Fire Nation brought down, can you blame him?" Azula snaps.

"So why isn't he giving up the Throne?" I snark, "as long as there's a conqueror on your Blazing Throne then the Fire Nation will always have enemies. Or am I wrong?"

"You aren't, but wouldn't the world be better under Fire Nation rule?" Azula asks quietly.

"No," I say immediately, "Fire cannot rule over Ice, just as Air cannot command the Earth. Air feeds Fire and Earth directs Water, would you have a world where Water swamps everything? A world of pure rock? What if there was nothing but Air? Not a pretty picture is it? Now think about what would happen if Fire dominated the planet," Mai's eyes bug out first, Iroh looks thoughtfully, but Azula and Ty Lee look unfazed.

"The world would be ash," Azula says, "but we do not come to raze the world but bring it light."

"Strangely enough," I whisper, "the smallest campfires spark the largest wildfires. Fire _has _to be moderated if it isn't then the world may burn."

Azula looks startled but can't retort as I disappear like mist with that last word.

**XXX**

My eyes snap open and I find myself back in my tent under furs we were given by the Southern Water Tribesmen. I smile softly at the feeling of Suki's bare back pressed against my naked chest. I let out a quiet sigh, careful not to wake the girl sleeping in my arms as I squeeze her middle gently. I can't help but smile at the woman in my arms, the woman I'm proud to call my girlfriend. Ever since Annabe- _'No! Bad Percy! Don't think about her…' _I can't help but sigh again at the thought of my once best friend.

I close my eyes, trying to keep my tears back as I press my head against the back of Suki's head.

"Percy?" Suki asks in a voice still heavy with sleep.

"Go back to sleep, love," I whisper back to her.

"No," she says sleepily while turning around to look me in the eye, "what's wrong?"

"Bad memories," I say while pressing my forehead to hers. She doesn't say anything just pulling herself into my chest, "I also found something tonight," I whisper rolling onto my back to stare up at the tent's ceiling.

"What was it?" she asks quietly.

"What do you know about Spirit Walking?" I whispered.

"Nothing," she answers simply.

"Apparently, it's where my mind leaves my body."

"Where'd you go?"

"Middle of the sea," I say unironically.

"What'd you see?" I sigh and bring my free arm up to my forehead.

"I was in the middle of a meeting between Iroh, Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai," Suki immediately snaps to attention, propping herself on an elbow so we can lock eyes.

"Tell me everything," so I did. The comet, the fact that Ty Lee can legitimately see auras and that's how I was detected, and finally my parting shots at them.

"And that's everything…" I say.

"You really love to mess up people's plan's don't you?" She says with a bright smile.

"You know it," I smile back up with her, leaning up to capture her lips in mine. She happily does just that and rests her hand on my chest. Our lips part and she looks down at me with a bright smile.

"If the sun wasn't coming up, we wouldn't be coming out of this tent for an hour," she purrs at me. I rest my hand on her hip and grin at her.

"And what a shame that is," I kiss her nose once but reach for where I know my pants are.

"Percy! Suki! Wake up! We need to eat and move!" Katara's voice calls from right outside our tent. I glance at Suki and sigh quietly.

"She's right you know," I sigh heavily. Suki though, Suki just grins and puts her hand on my lap.

"It looks like you're even more disappointed than I am, love," the minx said. I shake my head and shove her off me lightly.

"C'mon we need to get dressed," I say with a smile as she pouts.

"You're no fun," she said with laughter in her tone.

"I thought I showed you just how fun I was last night," I grin cheekily at her but she shakes her head again and pulls on her tunic.

We get dressed quickly before exiting the tent and tearing it down in seconds before sitting around the newly lit campfire, a rabbit sitting in Sokka's camp pot over the fire.

"Rabbit stew," Jeong Jeong said. Within half an hour breakfast was cooked and eaten. Over breakfast, I told our small crew about the coming comet, Jeong Jeong wasn't surprised but even he realized the Fire Lord had to go down before that could happen.

"We have to take him down! Percy, you may be strong but against the combined armies of the Fire Nation!?" Sokka waves his hands around frantically, trying to exaggerate the point.

"Sokka, be calm,"Jeong Jeong said quietly, "while it is true that the Fire Army is powerful, they would not be able to pin down one man with a force any larger than a Battalion, possibly a company. Any larger and you would be able to evade them with ease, this leaves room for consideration but seeing as young Percy has been known to exterminate Divisions and Fleets? I believe you would be mostly safe from large scale threats."

"Yes, but it's not the large scale I'm worried about," I say quietly, locking eyes with Jeong Jeong, "you said something about Agni's Fist the day before yesterday, I get the feeling that you didn't say everything you wanted."

The old man sighed and nodded, "you are right. Agni's Fist, as I told you, is a company of hand chosen Firebenders under the Fire Lord's direct command. They are quite possibly the second largest threat to you behind the Princess's party. There are three platoons under one captain, these platoons are further divided into five squads. Three of Fire and one each of Lightning and Smoke. Fire are the strongest benders known to the world, together they very well could melt the walls of Ba Sing Se in minutes, but they are relegated to strike missions nowadays. Lighting are, unsurprisingly, shock troops. They strike light lightning before disappearing into the dust they left," my eyes widen in surprise, this world has spec ops!? "And finally, Smoke…" the old master drifts off slowly, "the poison on the wind. Seen but not felt until it is too late, the Fire Nation's answer to the Poison Winds. They are the Fire Nation's Death squadron, under the Fire Lord's personal beck and call to do with as he pleases. I would not be surprised if we were to encounter them in our travels… There are ten men in Fire and Lightning Squadrons, but Smoke has a dozen men. They are led by a man named Captain Xaho, he was rumored to be of Smoke Squadron One but the rumor is unfounded, I personally know that he was the Sergeant Major of Fire One Omega," the casual use of Greek startled me almost as much as the revelation of Fire Nation Special Forces.

"Wait, Omega?" Sokka asks hesitantly.

"There are three platoons, young Sokka, one of the Generals stumbled across an ancient scroll that had a simple alphabet with nothing that we could distinguish, but the first two letters were determined to be Alpha and Beta while the last was called Omega," _'what is going on here?' _"thus, the Squads were labeled Agni's Fist Alpha, Beta, and Omega. Fire Squadrons were further broken down into one, two, and three," the old man said.

'_Okay, what the Hades is a Greek Scroll doing here!?'_

"_**Our Worlds are more connected than you know, young Perseus…" **_Raava's voice nearly had me flat on my back in surprise, _what _did she mean by that?


	13. Northern Discoveries

**My longest chapter to date and ho boy, it's a doozy. I do not own ATLA or HP.**

* * *

**Percy X**

* * *

"We will be coming up to the Northern Air Temple within the hour, Avatar. For that hour, focus on your breathing," the old master said over the whipping winds.

My eyes may be closed but I still say back, "Jeong Jeong, how many times have I told you on this flight to just call me Percy?"

"As I have said before, you are my student. I am your master, you will call me Sifu or master or I shall not teach you, young Avatar," he sounds genuinely amused but I shrug and focus on my breathing anyway, "good. In and out. Feel your heartbeat, it is the heart of the flame, let it guide you…" we're sitting with our knees touching, backs ramrod straight and searching within ourselves for our _heart of fire. _I nearly rolled my eyes at the concept. Sure, fire has a heart but what's it's personality? Earth is stubborn, air is free, and water _hates _to be contained but what is fire? So far Jeong Jeong has just answered my question with a stubborn _alive _like it helps.

Fire isn't just alive, fire is a raging dragon. Unchained, free, and wild. But what can I do with a beast like that? Slowly I feel myself dig deeper into myself, instantly I know when I went too far. I somehow _feel _my spirit leave my body but the tether was still there. I look down at my hands with a feeling of _oops!_

"Percy!" A man's voice called out, I whip around to see a man riding alongside Appa on _'dragonback!? This man is riding a _dragon _like it's nothing!?' _"I was wondering when I would meet you, my young friend! The solstice would have been preferable at my Temple on Crescent Island, but now is wonderful as well!" The old man says cheerily.

"And who are you?" I ask calmly.

"I am Avatar Roku, the last Fire Nation Avatar, I am here to help you in the ways of Fire and tell you what needs must be done," he waves me over, "come join me!" He smiles broadly and I leap over to the dragon's back figuring _what the Hades, why not?_

"Excellent, Mr. Jackson! You already know of the dangers of the Comet, the Fist, and the dispersed Poisoned Winds, yet you do not know that they approach still," the genial old man says quietly.

"I figured they weren't gone, I beat a minotaur _three _different times. _Of course, _killing these minotaurs would be just about as easy," I groan.

"What's a minotaur?" A boyish voice asks curiously from behind me, I whip around to see the little airbender standing on his hands _on the dragon's back. _I could have facepalmed if the situation wasn't as bad as it was.

"Aang," Roku says disappointedly, "I thought we had discussed this?"

"We did? Oh! We did, sorry Roku!" He scratches the back of his shaved head before waving at me and flipping off the dragon's back with a grin on his face.

"You must forgive Aang, he is a child at heart and a freer Airbender has yet to be seen," he sighs dramatically as we fly west.

"Where are we going Roku?" I ask quietly.

"The Fire Nation Palace, there is something there you must see with your own two eyes to believe occurred," the man sounds grim and looks even more so. Almost immediately we make it there falling in the shadow of three men and two women walking up the stairs of the Imperial Palace.

"Who are they?" I ask utterly confused.

"The last of the Air Raiders, Shen's final legacy…"

"Who the Hades is Shen?"

"The first man of note to defect from the Air Nomads to the Sky Tribes. Originally the Sky Tribes described the Air Nomads that did not wish to travel alone, but under his guidance they became much more… Militaristic," he said quietly, "he and his consort - Avatar Yangchen - created a haven for exiles while swearing to defend and answer the Council of Sky for perpetuity. But what would happen to those oaths if the Council of Sky, the collective body of each of the three heads governing the individual Air Temples - that is, no longer existed? Well…" he gestures to the men and women marching into the Imperial Palace.

"You know, I still don't understand how I'm here while my body's thousands of miles away."

"You fell into a trance, quite by accident it appears, while searching for your inner fire. You will not learn from Jeong Jeong, you are too atypical of a student to learn from a true master of the Fire Nation. Kuruk was much the same, you would enjoy his company I do believe," the man says with a chuckle as we stride into the Palace behind the five Raiders.

We take twists and turns through the Palace under heavy Imperial guard presence. The man at a huge set of ebony doors steps through announcing, "When stepping through these doors, you shall stand in the presence of his Highest, Ozai. In the Light of Agni, Lord of the Sovereign and Imperial Fire Nation. Champion of Agni, Heir of Sozin, Lord of Summer, he who sits upon the Glorius Blazing Throne," the herald announced much to my annoyance.

"Lord of Summer?" I turn to Roku, "really?"

"It was not so when Sozin took the Blazing Throne," he strokes his beard in troubled contemplation, "either Azulon or Ozai changed the Royal style it would appear…"

"Great," I mutter, "so not only are we dealing with a king, but a king with a kingly ego. That's _just _what we needed."

Roku bursts out laughing even as the Raiders fell to their knees, reluctantly but they did it all the same.

"Who are you?" Ozai asked in a remarkably calm baritone. And he's not a bad-looking man, definitely kingly… much more so than Iroh, but there's just something about him that's… _off. _But I can't put my finger on it.

"I am Lengtuk," the tall, lanky bald man at the head of the ranks said, "this is my wife, Kali," directing his hand to rather striking brunette at his right, "and her sister, Kriasta," he motions at the blonde woman on his left.

"I am Khaish, brother of Lengtuk. Arrow of our tribe," the tall, burly man on the left said.

"And I am Hamza, Son of Uthilos, Great-Great Grandson of Yingshan, Son of Korak, Son of Shen by Yangchen. Earl of the Sky Remnant, colloquially known as the Air Raiders," the man said, coming to his feet.

"And why should I not strike you down where you stand, Raider?" The Fire Lord snarls, the fires in the room rising with his agitation.

"Because we have hidden in plain sight for a hundred years, great Fire Lord. We were unfortunately discovered up the coast in the camp of a man by the name of Jeong Jeong, we had thought to capture the Sky Bison in the camp. It was to our misfortune that we did not know of the Bison's rider, the Avatar. We were brought to our knees by a boy no older than sixteen," the leader spits on the floor before continuing, "but he was not alone, a Fire Nation ship sailed upriver soon after our assault began… They joined the Avatar."

"Who was the leader of this party, perhaps I should reward them for exterminating rats - even if it was at the side of the Avatar. Him I knew about, but you," the Fire Lord spat, "are an outlier, a danger to my people. Why should I allow you to live instead of finishing my brave troops' work?"

"The person in command was a slip of a girl no higher than my collar, golden eyes with two bangs hanging at her face. She brought sixty Firebenders to the fight to combat my barely hundred men and women," the man says angrily.

"If you had harmed my daughter, my apparent heir," the man growled, "I would have torn the last vestige of Shen the Damned to shreds in my own Throne Room, yet," he raises his hand toward the man, beckoning him forward, "you were defeated by a fourteen-year-old girl, it wouldn't be worth my time to strike you down."

The Airbender visually grits his teeth at the blatant insult, "we are masters of stealth and speed, we would spy for you, oh great Fire Lord."

"You would have my protection for information? What could you possibly tell me?" The fire lord sneers.

"The Avatar sails north!"

"Fool!" Ozai snaps, "I received a hawk just this morning ordering the Northern and Western Fleets to assemble under Admiral Zhao with a trio of my Imperial Destroyers. The Northern Water Tribe will be crushed within two or three turns of the moon," my jaw falls open at this, _oh hell… that's not good… _"What other information is worth your life?" _'Please let it not be anything life-threatening like that again,'_ I plead the unhearing gods.

Hamza takes a deep shuddering breath before looking up at the Fire Lord again, "the Warriors of Kyoshi are Airbenders, the lot of them," the man says quietly, it may be a lie but there's a grain of truth to it.

Ozai cocks an eyebrow at the man, "and how do I know you speak the truth?"

"My men were free to do as they pleased in that village, it was rather easy to subdue Airbenders with little training. Their screams were musical," the earl grins sending a sickening chill down my spine, "we leave seven men alive, as the Winds demand," he says reverently _'great, fanatics,' _"if they live, they can be asked," the Earl shrugs self importantly as the Fire Lord glares down at him.

"And why should I divert troops to a burnt-out fishing village? There are no more Warriors of Kyoshi, they've become mercenaries in the service of the Earth Kingdom," the Earl looks remarkably startled at the information, "the Avatar broke the Southern Fleet on the island as the newly promoted Admiral Zhao can attest to, or my brother Prince Iroh. They were the only two officers to leave the island alive and unscathed."

"My Lord," the Earl says quietly, "we did not know."

Ozai snorts, "obviously, yet you may be of use to me yet… Rise," he snaps, at the five kneeling Airbenders, "you three," he points at Hamza, Lengtuk, and Khaish, "are to join Smoke squadrons one, two, and three respectively. Those are my _personal _squadrons of professional killers and assassins, who better to be assassins than men who can move like the wind?"

"You da-" Hamza starts before Ozai cuts him off.

"You wish to die?" The threat is cold as ice and shuts the Airbender up, much to his displeasure.

"No… my lord," he growls out.

"Excellent, then you will join on the morrow!" he says in fake cheer, "your wife's sister shall join the fledgling Royal Harem, she is to be my… personal guard," his smile is all teeth and the blonde looks startled but determined.

"If it so pleases my lord," Kriasta says in a surprisingly musical voice with a small bow of her head and I can't help but cringe for her.

"Excellent! That just leaves the question of your lovely wife…" he says in a menacingly deceptive tone, "you see, this leaves me in a bit of a quandary, Private Shenson…" he says in a mocking tone that makes the Earl bristle.

"I have no surname, my lord," he says through gritted teeth.

"No? Then Shenson will work well, will it not?" Ozai looks like he's daring him to say no.

"It is… acceptable," the man grinds out, "my lord."

"Excellent! Now, what are your surnames, gentlemen?" He looks to Lengtuk and Khaish who have a look of incredible pain at the thought of having to take surnames.

"Bodkin," Khaish rumbled out unhappily followed by Lengtuk's reply of, "Skybane."

"Hmm… Bodkin will work well for you, Private Bodkin, I approve. But Skybane?" The Fire Lord tuts at the man, "that will just not do…" he says with false disappointment dripping off every word, "no, no, Private Stone, it will not do at all," Lengtuk looks like he might burst a vein in his forehead at the name, "does that name please you, Private Stone?"

"Aye, milord," he says quietly, fury underlying every syllable.

"Good! You will be shown to your barracks immediately. I hope you understand, they are very… specific on how things must be done. It's for the good of the unit, you see. I am sure you will figure things out in no time at all!" His smile is all teeth again and I nearly cringe for the men, going from civilian life to the military without even basic training? They'll either learn or die, heaven help us if they learn, "now, where were we? Oh! Yes, the matter of your wife, Private Shenson. There are not many outside of the Royal Coast Guard who are married, we have no housing for her, I am afraid, but I am a generous lord," he says self importantly, "I will allow her to stay here in the Palace. It is most unfortunate that the wives of my soldiers are required to… _earn _their keep in such accommodations, not all Citizens of the Fire Nation are lucky enough to live in the Imperial Palace, after all. Many would frown on this intruder who they see as below them, and not even a Firebender… it would not be proper for her to not earn her keep, I'm afraid. She will be given small quarters to call her own but I expect her to work in either the kitchens or with the housekeeping staff, which would you prefer, my dear?" He asks Kali in a way that could be mistaken for gentle if you missed the horrible glint in his eye.

"The kitchens, milord," she says nervously, "I've never kept a house before, but I cook well…"

"That is wonderful, truly," Ozai's baritone rings jovially through the room, "then you will be shown to your quarters immediately, I shall see to how you are settling in later tonight." Kali nods nervously as Ozai turns to her sister, "my dear, Kriasta, you are going to be _very _special to me," the Fire Lord purred in a way that would have turned me green if I wasn't a rip off force ghost, and Roku looked just about the same.

"Those poor women," Roku muttered, much to my agreement.

"Please, if you will follow Roli, he will escort you to your chambers. Kali, you may follow Ilor to yours," he says as two _giant _men step forward, they're both easily seven and a half feet tall and pure muscle, "while I finish this discussion with Privates Shenson, Stone, and Bodkin. Go on now," he gives a small motion with his hands and the women are being hustled out of the room. As soon as they're gone, the fires in the room rocket to the ceiling, "you three are now my subjects, if even one of you _thinks _of betraying me your women will die horrible, painful deaths after I let every man in this palace take their pleasure from them while you can do nothing but _watch. _Do I make myself absolutely clear, Privates?" He hisses down at them as the monster reveals himself at long last.

"Yes, Fire Lord," they say quietly, obviously hating their decision to come here but they both know they can't turn back now.

"Good. Now get out of my sight," he barks as three men appear out of nowhere, "these are Commanders Feng, Shui, and Kijun, they are over Alpha, Beta, and Omega platoons respectively, they will introduce you to your Majors who will then hand you over to their harshest drill sergeant. The three of you will become master assassins of the Fire Nation in three moons, fail to do so will result in your deaths and your women's status from servants drop to beggars, and there is only one profession for two broken women in this city. Do I make myself clear?" I feel just as disgusted as the three men standing before the monster on the throne, _'this is who Azula bows to?'_

"Yes, my lord," the former Earl said quietly.

"I believe it is time we return, young Percy, your friends are probably quite concerned for you," Roku says quietly.

"Hades, the further away I can get from this hellhole the better," I say to the grim-faced old man who nods in agreement. Immediately, I feel a tug in the middle of my chest - like my heart's reaching out to something as I'm catapulted from where I'm standing to my own body immediately.

* * *

I gasp while clutching at my chest, "_oh gods," _I rasp out, "I _never _want to go through that again," I groan out.

"What, by Tui and La, was that!?" Sokka snapped out at me with eyes wide.

"I went too deep in my trance," I say sheepishly, "met avatar Roku and watched one of my worst nightmares come to pass."

"What did you see, Avatar?" Jeong Jeong asked quietly.

"I saw the last surviving Air Raiders meet with the Fire Lord…"

"Meet with the Fire Lord? Surely you jest?" The master asked with his eyes wide but I just shook my head.

"No, they were there," I say quietly.

"How can that be possible?" Suki asked for everyone in the saddle.

"They flew, quickly, but not faster than a hawk apparently," I say grimly but still confused, _'how did they manage that anyway? These hawks are either as fast as jets or I heavily underestimated the distance between where we were to where we are_...' "we have two, maybe three months before the Northern and Western Fleets assemble and sail on the Northern Water Tribe. Admiral Zhao is the officer in command of the fleet, he has full command of the two fleets and three imperial destroyers."

"That's bad, right?" Trust Sokka to be a master of understatement.

"Zhao will have eighty-three ships and well over twenty-thousand men, thirty percent of those men will be Firebenders while the other seventy will be marines. The Fire Nation does not train sailors, only men who can fight on land and sea. The support onboard each of these ships will be negligible, the engineers, coal shovelers, cooks, and so on. The Southern Water Tribe's combined forces are a full battalion, the Northern Tribe can muster a Regiment - possibly less," the man says quietly.

"They're screwed, _we're _screwed," Sokka says in a near panic.

"They'll be at sea," I say bluntly, "metal sinks rather quickly if it runs into a big enough iceberg," for the life of me, I can't help the small smirk at the bizarre mental image of a fleet of Fire Nation ships ending up like the Titanic, _'Get the women and children to the lifeboats!' _I nearly burst into a fit of giggles at that alone.

"What has you so happy?" Katara snaps at me nearly making double over laughing but I restrain myself to a few snorts.

I take a second to compose myself but thankfully Suki said something for me, "give him a minute, he gets this way sometimes, you should see him when he jumps from idea to idea like a frog-sparrow."

I automatically freeze at that, "wait, you're saying there's a frog that has wings?"

Suki sighs quietly, "yes, Percy."

"Does it still bump it's butt?" I hold my face straight as I can but Katara and Sokka's purely surprised faces make me double over laughing.

"What?" Sokka asks the general audience, "does anyone have any idea what he's talking about?"

* * *

_**Twenty Minutes Later...**_

* * *

"Airbenders?" Sokka asked, absolutely stunned.

"No," I answered him thoughtfully, "they're gliding and diving but they aren't legitimately airbending, there's no thrust…" I instinctively duck as a glider comes hurtling out of nowhere.

"We need to land!" Sokka calls out nearly panicked.

"Really!? I thought that we needed to climb higher! Appa! Can you do that buddy!?" I snark at the boy.

"Really, sarcasm Percy? I thought you were _better _than that," Sokka yelled back.

"Sometimes, but when you call out the most obvious blasted ideas, it's kind of easy to snark!" I bark back to the boy as Appa hurtles through the slalom of gliders in front of us.

Thankfully, Appa found a convenient landing zone. _'Guess they should have been good at building landing pads, Appa's huge and if _every _Airbender had one… Well, that would make life a living headache in logistics alone. How did they even feed the big fuckers?'_

"Woah!" a boy's voice called out, "what is that!?"

I jumped off Appa's back and came face to face with a boy in a wheelchair… with a twist. The wheelchair has a glider attached to the back of it that a small group of kids are taking off of the back of the chair.

"It's a Sky Bison, we weren't expecting to meet anyone here. Thought it was abandoned," I grinned slightly at the assembled group of people.

"And we thought Sky Bisons were extinct!" The boy said excitedly.

"Not anymore, my friend. Who made your glider? It's awesome!" Sokka, Katara, and Jeong Jeong walk down Appa's tail while Suki lands at my side with a faux-angelic grin on her face as I take the glider in my hands before handing it off to another teen with a grin and a wink.

"My dad made it! He's an inventor, he's made all sorts of improvements at the Temple," the boy said with a smile.

"That's awesome, I want to meet him!" I say with a smile as Suki steps up to me while digging her elbow into my ribs, I turn to her confused as she grins broadly - it didn't reach her eyes. But she nodded at the boy and the rest of our little crew and I finally figure out what she wants, "I'm Percy," I say with a slightly forced smile as I come back to my group, "these are Suki, Katara, Sokka, and master Jeong Jeong," indicating each of my companions one at a time.

"I'm Teo!" The boy said excitedly, "welcome to the Northern Air Temple! Let's go inside, dad will flip when he meets you!"

Together, we walk into a maze of pipes and contraptions that are horribly outdated to my American sensibilities. But worse? This place was an ADHD kid's wet dream. I'm almost bouncing off the walls with Sokka right beside me.

"How does-"

"What is-"

"Can they-"

Sokka and I bounce questions off each other as we move around the floor level with Sokka taking rides on the proto-elevator over and over again.

"Boys," Suki and Katara say in unison.

"What!?" Sokka, Teo, and I call back.

"Maybe we could see if there's something untouched from the original temple," Suki says, slightly amused.

I blush slightly but look at Teo all the same, "uh… yeah, what she said," I say with a grin while scratching the back of my head.

"Alright, just follow me this way," Two says while gesturing toward a door to his left. We happily follow him to see a beautiful courtyard with statues surrounding the perimeter, with a team of three men leaning over a table in the middle of the courtyard - pointing and discussing something.

"Dad!" Teo called out and the man in green turned to us with surprise obvious on his face. When he did… Well, I think Kelly was more attractive than this man. The man is tall, he's eye level with me actually but the bushy beard, bowl of hair surrounding a shining bald head, and patchy eyebrows make for an interesting sight. _'Well, interesting like a train wreck…' _

"Teo!" the man jogs over to us in an awkward half run-half hop but he manages all the same, "who are your friends?" the man may look like he went a few rounds with Hephaestus but he seems nice _'so far,' _the thought hits me out of nowhere but I grin at the man all the same.

"Hey! I'm Percy, these are Suki, Katara, Sokka, and Jeong Jeong. You made Teo's glider?" I ask the man while extending my hand to him. The man looks over at Jeong Jeong and immediately his demeanor changes from warm to jumpy. I glance over at Suki and she moves a few steps to my left, "is there a problem, Mr. Teo's-dad-inventor-man?" _'Okay, if Sokka's looking at me like that then maybe I went a bit overboard, but something's fishy here.'_

"Oh! Uh, nothing! Nothing at all! Welcome to my home, Avatar!" The man says and immediately we're on high alert as the man's hazel eyes widen in terror.

"Who said anything about the Avatar?" Katara asks quietly, opening her hip flask in preparation for a fight.

"Oh…" the man deflated in on himself.

"You're the Mechanist?" trust Jeong Jeong to get right to the point, but this is interesting for sure.

The man sighs while rubbing his shiny bald head, "I am," his voice wavers slightly.

"Explain," I growl at the trembling man as Teo looks on completely confused and _very _worried for his dad.

"I've been forced to create weapons for the Fire Nation, if I didn't then they would kill my son and destroy the home I built here," the man sighs, "please understand, I did not want this. Years ago, there was a terrible flood. My son and I were two of the handful of the survivors, the rest you can see here. I found this place, a wonderfully empty place that simply could not flood! We would never have to worry about catastrophe again!" His eyes are alight before the spark almost immediately dies, "but I was wrong. I had lost my wife, Teo's mother, and my people lost their village… I just wanted a better life, then the fire nation came," he ran his fingers over his bald scalp worriedly.

"Then why do you look like jumping off the nearest cliff would be the safest option?" I ask before thinking, _'blast.'_

"Because we're expecting a visitor today…" he says simply, I nearly slap my forehead because _of course _life wouldn't be that easy.

"And what were you going to give them today?" Sokka asked with an edge in his voice, even as Katara made the water circles without so much as a twitch. I can't help but smile slightly, _atta girl! We worked hard on that too!_

The man hesitates, flinches, hesitates some more before saying, "it's what I like to call a stable assault vehicle."

"A tank, you made the _Fire Nation _a tank?" I ask in complete disbelief as everyone else looks at me worriedly.

"Percy," Suki starts quietly, "what's a tank?"

"A game changer…" I say quietly before turning burning eyes on the man, "when is the visitor supposed to be here?" The man looks over to a candle that - by some act of providence or luck - popped like a firecracker.

"Four hours," he says quietly, "what are we going to do?"

"Give them the tanks…" I can't help the smirk that crosses my lips as an idea hits me.

"Percy," Sokka started slowly, "what do you mean we're going to just _give _them the tanks?"

"I never said they would like their gifts, Sokka," I grin slightly as Suki finally catches my drift.

"You're going to turn them on the Fire Nation," she says with approval.

"You best believe it, especially if we have them breathing down our neck," I say grimly, her grey eyes lock with my green and she nods thoughtfully.

"Yeah, we'll have to do something and let me guess, you've got a plan," I can't help but blush slightly.

"Well," I cough into my hand trying to think of something to say, "no… but I'll have something!" I turn bright red as I run over battle strategies on my head.

"Percy, Percy, Percy," Suki mutters as her arms encircle my waist, "don't work your brain too hard there," she looks up at me with a devilish little smile, "we need you to fight, you don't need to think of this."

"But-" she cuts me off with a finger on my lips.

"No buts, Percy, we'll figure out the strategy, you just figure out what you can do to help," she smiles before kissing me gently. I can only nod once she breaks the kiss, "c'mon, the rest of our group are already going inside," I just nod dumbly and follow her lead, mind focused on the wonderful girl wrapped around me and the inevitable battle to come.

* * *

"Mechanist, what do you have for me today?" the man in Fire Nation garb asked. Me and Suki were watching the exchange from one hiding place with Katara and Sokka in another and Jeong Jeong settled in a chair behind the trap door.

"I, um… Unfortunately progress has been slow on the newest design," the twitchy inventor said quietly.

"So nothing?" the emissary said with a face of false disappointment, "does the Fire Lord's mercy mean nothing to you?"

"It does, but progress has been halted…"

"Halted? How so?" I took that as my cue to step out of the shadows.

"Well for starters," seeing the man's eyes widen in terror was a wonderful surprise to say the least, "I'm not a fan of having any more weapons pointed at me than strictly necessary."

"You!" he says while pointing directly at me, "you're the Avatar!" I turn around, acting like I'm looking for something.

"Wait!" I turn back around with wide eyes, "I am!?" This obviously got the man off balance, "My dad'll be so proud! And my mama! Oh! Thank you sir for the wonderful news!" I bite off sarcastically.

"You fool!" he barks out, "you insult me!"

"You do that for me, dude," I scoff, "now, here's what you're going to do."

"I'll do nothing you tell me, cur!" He yells at me even as the rest of my friends appear at my sides.

"Oh? And why's that? It looks like I have the numbers, power, and position. What can you _really _do to me?"

"I can have this temple destroyed! In a week I can have a full division here to bring it to the ground!" he says but it's a front.

"Oh? And what if you don't return?" Sokka says simply making the emissary pale greatly.

"You wouldn't dare!" The man blusters, "I'm a servant of the Fire Lord, he would have vengeance!"

"Yes… but not for you." Suki says simply making the crimson man turn sheet white.

"You see, I already destroyed your _entire _Southern Fleet… Jeong Jeong," the emissary whirls around to face the smirking former Admiral, "a division is roughly the same as the southern fleet, correct?"

"Not as well trained but they do have more men," the old fire bender smirks as he sits back in his chair, "but yes, roughly the same."

"Excellent!" The man turns around with fear written across his face, "this is what you're going to do."

"I'm listening," the once blustering man said quietly.

"You're going to run back to your Fire Lord, we'll stay here for two weeks. The more men that come here, the more men that die. Convince him that this place is under _my _personal protection and once I'm done not even Sozin himself could bring this mountain down. Do you understand?"

"I do…" he says but everyone in the room knows he's going to go straight to the Division commander to mobilize the troops. We probably have less than a week to prepare for the fight.

"Then go, but remember, this is the place the Fire Nation will fall," he sneers but marches back to the trap door.

"What have you done?" The mechanist whispers in horror.

"Poked a caged lion," I shrug, "but it's caged. You've already shown us most of this temple, but we've seen more than just that. There's what coming, Jeong Jeong?"

"A single Division," he scoffs slightly, "this far north will be nothing more than a mottley assembly from fortress garrisons, they'll pull ten to twenty thousand as they march. It won't be much of an invasion force and I'll tell you now that their forces will have one Fire Bender for every hundred soldiers."

"So few?" The mechanist asked with actual surprise.

"Yes, so few. The Fire Nation prefers their FireBenders to be Marines or officers. If they're marines, they'll be in the heart of danger where they're needed but if they're officers they're most likely nobles that the Fire Lord is trying to protect, if his vassals are killed in the line of duty then their fathers or family can cause him no end of trouble."

"Why?" I ask with a scrunched nose.

"Because the nobles are said to be from Agni himself," he said simply, prompting Sokka's next question.

"Agni this, Agni that, Agni Kai… By Tui and La, what or who's this Agni?" Katara nodded along while Suki raised an eyebrow, but I'm just as interested as Sokka and Katara.

"Agni is our patron spirit, the first dragon and the light of day. His fire has warmed us from the first day and for the rest of our days," Jeong Jeong said while staring at the climbing sun. I could almost slap my forehead. Agni's pretty much their god, "by his truths, we go forth into the world."

"Do I even want to know?" Sokka says blandly as Katara nods along.

"I don't think so, Sokka," she says to him while the old Firebender locks eyes with me. I hesitantly nod as the old man starts reciting something he's had memorized for a long time.

"Our fire comes from Earth and Wind, by Water we are healed. Our strength comes from our family, with them we are never lost. By our ancestors, we are guided. From fire we are born into darkness, to fire we shall return to give the living light. Cursed is he who would extinguish his own kin's flame. Cursed is he who would kill his lord. Blessed is he who leads the realms of men, may fire guide his path. Blessed are the benders, those touched by the spirits themselves. Blessed is the Avatar for by wind, sea, earth, and the flames shall balance be attained," he almost sounds like he's in a trance as he whispers that, "The Dragons shall rise. The Dragons shall rise to raise the dawn. They shall rise to fight the night. Eternal darkness or everlasting day for our people will be their legacy. The Dragons shall rise to fight the Night. The Dragons shall rise… So says the book of Agni…"

"So says the book of Agni," I whisper before I have the chance to wonder what the hades that was about.

"You have heard this before, Avatar?" Jeong Jeong sounds surprised but then realization comes to him, "not in this lifetime, yet the knowledge finds you anyway."

I can't help but nod, thinking of all the strange things that pop into my mind or the rituals that I did in the Forest with Jet or the one I said over Aang, maybe even that time with the Panda… The strangest things have happened and I don't have an explanation for them.

"Come, we have discussed religion enough. We must prepare," he says grimly as he stands from his chair and over to a map, we all surround it with the mechanist on one side with Sokka, Suki and Katara on my left, and Jeong Jeong at my right to leave one side of the table open.

"This path," the mechanist points to a place indicating the side of the mountain, "is wide enough for a man on an ostrich-horse to ride up or a line of soldiers to march up single file," I can't help but gape at the obvious advantage that provides.

"You're telling me that not only is there a choke point but it's a choke point that could _literally _break the invasion force if their way to retreat was blocked?" I ask in disbelief.

"Yes," Jeong Jeong nods.

"We could use a harrying force from the gliders, the Fire Nation doesn't seem too enthused with projectile weapons if it's not blasting fireballs," I say while tracing the goat trail.

"And what do you want the gliders to do?" the mechanist asks quietly.

"What do you know about bombs?"

* * *

"Dr. M, You're telling me that there was a natural gas deposit here and you _didn't _tell me about it a week ago?!" I say pinching the bridge of my nose thanks to the old Mechanist that I took to calling Dr. M, saying _the Mechanist _everytime is just annoying.

"I didn't think it was relevant," he said, actually blushing at the admission as I muttered quietly in Greek.

"Suki, I need you to stay here and bend as much air as you can _back _into that room as you can, can you do that?" I turn to my girlfriend and nearly plead with her. She nods quickly and turns the air around, "I need you," I tell the mechanist, "to get as many canisters as you can and they'll need to air tight."

"Yes, I'll get right on that!" he says as he turns on his heel and tries to run away.

"I swear," I say to Suki as I watch Dr. M go, "for a genius he's an idiot," Suki can't control her laugh as she keeps up with her Airbending.

"That he is, help me out here you idiot," I shift nervously but nod, "I've taught you this Percy, we've been working on it all week, you've got it."

I nod again while doing the weird Kung Fu to redirect the air. Supposedly, it shouldn't be too hard to master… right? Wrong. It's hard to master the air and I'm going to go off on a limb here and say that Zeus was a big part of that. I'm only ever comfortable in the air with Appa or on Pegasus-back, I can't help but frown as I think of Blackjack. I miss that crazy horse…

"Relax Percy," Suki says quietly, "you don't have to wrestle with it, just let it flow…" and suddenly everything clicks. _Let it flow… it's like water, it flows and twists. There are streams and rivers of air, let it flow. If water hates to be restrained then air should be just the same…_

Immediately, the air flow around us warps from a slight breeze into a whirlwind as the air around us rushes to obey my commands.

"Woah! Percy, relax!" Suki calls out as I let the air flow slow down around us with a broad grin, "you did it!" Suki said excitedly as the little flap on the door clicks shut, "how'd you do it!?" she asked excitedly.

"I just thought of it like water…" I whisper as I look around us, "it was incredible. Absolutely incredible, Suki."

"Yes… it is…" she whispers just as quietly, pressing herself against me.

"All thanks to you," I whisper to the girl as my back connects with the stone wall, her lips connect to mine and we lose ourselves in each other.

At least until we hear Dr. M's awkward lumbering run coming back toward us, "I've got it!" he said as he came around the corner with a strange looking metal canister about a footlong and three inches wide, "this is what we will need!" Suki pulls herself away from me with as much reluctance as I feel myself. I shake my head slightly with a whisper of _later._

She nods but doesn't look too happy about it, "thanks," she said as she took the canister from the old man.

"What do you plan to do with it?" He sounds almost excited as I take the tube from Suki.

"I plan to make a frag grenade," I tell the other two people who look absolutely shocked.

"A fire grenade? But natural gas would be a terrible idea to use! You would need much more for it to explode with any force!" The mechanist said with raised hands.

"No, no, not fire grenade. _Frag _grenade, Iforgot what the real word was," I scratch the back of my head but continue on, "but you're right. What makes your candles pop?" I ask almost buzzing with excitement, if I can make frag grenades this little battle will be _so _much easier.

"I haven't found a name for it but I like to call it exploding powder!" he says excitedly.

"Is it black in color?" I ask with my mind thrumming.

"Yes actually," he says while scratching his beard but his words made me grin brightly.

"Have you tried putting the charge in a bottle?"

"Hm… No, I have not," he says, still stroking his beard with an interested expression on his face.

"Let me finish here and then we'll do that, that oughta show you why I want to do this," gunpowder can change _everything _if used properly and with an accelerant like natural gas to help it along…

After filling the tube with as much natural gas as Suki could muster, we leave the vault and go back to the mechanist's workshop. He pulls one of his candles down with a ceramic jar, "this is all my powder for the candles," the man says much to my annoyance.

"Only this much?" I ask with a bit of disappointment.

"Unfortunately…" he says quietly, "I need more saltpeter and sulfur, I have plenty of saltpeter being made currently but sulfur is remarkably hard to come by."

"Di Immortales…" I say while running my fingers through my hair, "we really need an earthbender for things like this."

"I quite agree!" the insane old man says as I just shake my head.

"Yeah you would, but we have this much thankfully," I say looking down at the blackpowder with a slight scrunch of my nose, "alright, here's what we're going to do. You're going to make another canister the same size as this one," I say holding up the one full of methane, "and attach a wick rolled in blackpowder to the second canister. It'll be good for one shot but you'll have to throw it from Sokka's balloon. There's no other way that it can be used, after all it's not like I'm going to be in the sky and I know that no one would appreciate an open flame attached to their glider in any way, shape, or form."

"I know I won't go for it," Suki pipes up making me grin at her.

"Thank the spirits," I say with a small grin, but it immediately disappears as I go back to the map. "We're going to need to add more to our defenses than what we have. Yes it'll work, but did we do enough good to cut off their retreat?"

"I think so," Suki says tracing the map and our fortifications before snorting, "I doubt the airbenders would have ever approved their precious temples being used to do anything other than meditate or learn airbending."

"Well there's according to Sokka and Katara, their little military force didn't hang out here so that would actually make sense," I say with a small frown.

"Military force? I've never heard of an Air Nation military," the Mechanist says a bit excitedly.

"You wouldn't have, Fire Nation hunted them down to a few men. Ironically they work for the Fire Nation now…" Suki says darkly.

"What!?" the old man's eyes look like they're about to pop out of his head.

"She's not lying," I say, "I actually saw it for myself," I manage with a small shrug, twisting my ring and fidgeting slightly. I forgot how much I hate just standing around.

"How on Earth…" the Mechanist whispers before waving his hand, "Avatar magic, right. I'll work on your bomb, how long should the fuse be set for?"

"Seven seconds," I say without hesitation, "shouldn't take longer than that to reach the ground."

"Alright, with your idea we managed to finish the balloon yesterday thankfully. And your natural gas solution was genius!" He exclaims.

"Genius? It was Sokka's idea and he _never _told me why he ran off after finding that stupid rotten egg," I shake my head slightly at the memory but I don't dwell on it.

"Dad!" Teo's wheelchair came screeching into the room, "the Fire Nation's attacking!"

Instantly we're on the move, Suki launching herself skyward with one of the Mechanist's gliders while I move to take my place at the top of the path, raising a wall of ice behind me as I extend my armor and trident to wait.

I watch with a small smirk as Appa takes to the sky with Katara on his back, ready to resupply bombs for the fighters.

"The fight comes soon," Jeong Jeong says as he lands a glider beside me, ready for the coming battle, "are you prepared?"

"I am," I say while stretching my muscles slightly and preparing for the upcoming fight but contenting myself to watch Appa for the time being as one by one gliders launch from the Air Temple proper, ready to harass the Fire Nation attack line. I take a breath in feeling the layers of snow on the mountain with a small frown. There's a good deal of it but there's nowhere near enough of it to be an effective weapon for more than a couple thousand and storms are out with my allies being in the air.

I can't help but sigh as I hear the rhythmic thumping of boots as the Fire Nation soldiers march up the mountain. Right now it's still relatively far away but when I see Sokka's balloon take to the skies I can't help but smirk. There are at least a hundred bombs in the basket along with the three utterly massive ones.

"Here we go, master," I say turning to the old Firebender, "think we can get a meditation session in before they get here?" I don't know why I said that but I know there's nothing to do until they get up here.

"Another lesson in futility, then?" He says with a small smirk. I just shake my head and smile at him.

"Looks to be that way," I grin while sinking to my knees with Jeong Jeong facing me. I stab my Trident down in the snow, not reacting as the enchanted steel cuts straight through the stone to stay upright.

Together, we breathe while waiting for the rhythmic stomping of Fire Nation boots to reach us. It took a half an hour for me to finally find the fire within but, like always, it seemed off limits. I nearly threw my head back in frustration yet I kept pressing into the fire. Nothing happened.

After half an hour of failure, the boot falls became close enough for us to hear clearly with the mechanical thrumming of tank treads in the background. Together we rose to our feet to come face to face with a force of soldiers that was tired, annoyed, and covered in slime and reeking of sulfur.

The leading forces looked at the wall of ice and then down at us with no small amount of frustration and a ton of rage in their eyes. Without hesitation the front lines charged as fast as they could. With a snap of my fingers, the wall of snow washes over the soldiers washing them off the side of the mountain and down to the unyielding rock below.

"Monster!" I heard that called out more than once even as our fighters swooped overhead to harry them even further. Next thing I heard though was the glorious sound of an explosion as a boulder falls to block the footpath. Now the only way the Fire Nation has to go is forward, right toward me and Jeong Jeong.

Jeong Jeong proved his salt as a High Master of the Fire Nation, attacking like a demon from the bowels of Tartarus itself with me grinning right beside him. _Gods do I miss Riptide at times like this, _I think while bringing my trident up to catch another in it's prongs extending my hand and ripping a firebender off his feet and over the ledge with my newfound airbending.

I would have used my powers over water but there was no real water to use after I threw the snow down the side with three fourths of the army. Eventually, I noticed as Suki landed next to me, bringing the fight from five thousand to two to four thousand to three… Suki got a bit pissed at seeing the almost overwhelming odds against us. What she would have said if she saw the original twenty thousand against us… Damn, still can't believe I took out fifteen thousand men in one strike.

Jeong Jeong said it best though, out of five thousand soldiers we originally faced there were only about thirty firebenders remaining. I shook my head at another weak blast of fire, I'm used to dodging Jeong Jeong's fire blasts; these are almost nothing. I bring my hand up, blasting away a ball of fire with a gout of airbending and stabbing another soldier in the stomach. I manage to throw the unfortunate, screaming soldier over the ledge as Suki tosses another firebender over the ledge.

The soldiers pressed on, desperate for life. If they could just push past three benders then they would be safe… Well, they don't know that the Temple is booby trapped to Tartarus and back but let them hope, if they keep throwing themselves at us they won't notice Sokka and Dr. M throwing gren-

**KAKOOM! **

The world shakes below us as the force of the explosion rocks the mountain top, causing a secondary avalanche of Snow from closer to the Air Temple. I can only watch in shock as the wall of snow comes barreling toward us. I feel my body lose control of itself before I can do a thing to stop the wall of snow thundering toward us. I feel like a passenger in my own body, like I'm watching a movie. I can throw my hands up and scream all I want but it's no use, I can only watch in fascination as I pull Suki toward me as a wedge of Earth erupts from the ground in front of us. I can feel my body's intention to pull Jeong Jeong into cover but before I can my vision is interrupted by a wall of white.


	14. Trials and Travels

**A/N: Two updates on two different stories in two days? What is this?! Nah guys, welcome to Chapter 14 of WOTWT! I hope you're enjoying the story so far and will continue to enjoy the story! I do not own Avatar and it's related properties or PJO and **_**it's **_**related properties!**

* * *

**Percy XI**

* * *

"JEONG JEONG!" I scream as I feel my mind reassert itself in the driver's seat if you would. I force the wall of snow back toward me, hunting for Jeong Jeong's signs of life and find it a split second before the rest of the wall crashed into the remaining thirty-five hundred soldiers.

I dragged Jeong Jeong's limp body behind the haven of the earthen wedge, praying to the Spirits, gods, Agni, and whoever else I could that the old man was alright.

It wasn't to be.

As the wall of snow disappeared over the mountain, Jeong Jeong's body came to rest in front of me and Suki. I laid my hand on his chest with a wince, his chest had caved in like he had been hit square by a Laistrygonian cannonball.

"No… no, no, no…" Suki whispered as I laid my hand over his forehead, tears pooling in my eyes, "he can't be… no! He was just here! He was fighting with us! It's not fair!" she slams her fist down in the snow, tears rolling down her face.

"No, it's not," I whisper as she turns to me with her eyes blazing.

"What the hell was that, Percy!?" She hissed, getting in my face, "you could have stopped that wall, why didn't you!?"

"I couldn't! I couldn't do anything other than watch," I say while staring at the wedge of Earth in front of us, waving my hand at it wildly, "that wasn't my doing! I don't know _what _happened but Percy wasn't home when I pulled you in. I tried to save Jeong Jeong, I did! I fought tooth and nail to get back but something happened and I was _gone! _I was forced to sit back and watch like my life was late-night Jimmy Kimmel!" I say not realizing the utter _magnitude _of what I just said.

"Late-night Jimmy Kimmel, what the _fuck _does that mean Percy!?" she yelled back at me making me freeze in place with my eyes wide open, "well!?"

I slump to the ground with my head in my hands, "I'll tell you tonight, Suki," I say heavily as I watch a fleet of gliders and Appa coming in for a landing.

"Suki! Percy! You guys were amazing!" I hear Sokka's voice come down from the still hovering balloon as it starts to come down to earth.

"You better," Suki growls in my ear as we kneel over Jeong Jeong once again.

"Oh no… oh no, no, no…" I hear Katara chant as she rushes towards us, leaping off Appa's back in the process. Her boots land in the thick layer of snow, melting and following her as she sprints toward us. "No, this can't be happening!" she screams as water wraps around the man's body. I bring my fingers to his neck without much hope but my eyes widen as I feel a weak pulse thrum like a weak butterfly.

"He's alive!" I yell and Suki's eyes snap up, I strip his shirt off and look at Katara, "your scrolls on healing! How's do you do it!?"

"I don't know! I've never tried it before!"

"I _know _you can do it, Katara, I'll help you as much as I can," I say while concentrating on a bit of snow, melting and transforming it into a razor to cut Jeong Jeong's shirt off his ruined chest. Katara takes in deep breaths as I summon circles of water to my hands, mustering the sheer will power to heal my old mentor. Glowing blue light pulses off of my hands and Katara's in the same moment, green eyes lock with blue before we go to work on the old man's chest.

"Steady," I hear Katara's voice drift into my ears as I place my hands on the man's chest. Light flares again as the man bucks against the bright blue light pulsing off mine and Katara's hands.

"Trying," I say quietly as Suki wraps her arms around my chest.

"You're doing great… both of you…" she whispers in my ear as I bring my hands to Jeong Jeong's upper chest while Katara takes his lower chest and stomach.

"This is incredible," I hear Sokka's voice carry over to us even as Jeong Jeong's chest pulls itself out from where it cratered. Honestly, I'm shocked the man lasted even this long but I'm not going to disagree with Sokka here.

In minutes, the man's chest is returned to what it normally looks like letting Katara and I pull back. Katara lands in the snow, panting from exertion as I fall into Suki's waiting arms, almost instantly falling unconscious.

**XXX**

"Percy?" I groan at the voice, clutching my forehead while opening my eyes to see Suki's grey eyes looking down on me, "hey," she says with a slight smile.

"Hey yourself," I say with a small smile of my own, "what the Hades happened?"

"You saved Jeong Jeong with Katara, I don't know how you did it but you did… but he's not going to be able to go to the North Pole with us, we have to leave right away."

"Why?" I manage through the brutal pounding in my head _'might have over did it…_'

"You've been knocked out for four days, Perce… don't think I forgot about that conversation we need to have though," I blink a couple of times but draw a blank.

"Which conversation?" I ask owlishly.

"Does 'late-night Jimmy Kimmel' mean anything to you?" And the conversation floods back to me. I manage to sit up and massage my temples.

"Uh… yeah, bout that," I sigh gently while looking around, "where's the rest of the team?"

"Preparing for us to leave, we're alone and this is probably one of the few times we will be until the Northern Water Tribe," she says quietly. Silence reigns between us before I take a shuddering breath.

"What do you know of the Spirit World?" I ask quietly.

"It's the home of the spirits…" Suki said, a bit confused.

"That's somewhat right, but not exactly," I run my fingers through my hair thinking of how Annabeth would explain this… "where I'm from, we have a theory called parallel dimensions and alternate worlds. The Spirit world is more along the lines of a parallel dimension, do you understand so far?"

"Not really," she said with wide eyes.

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, "a parallel dimension runs to the side of this one but doesn't interact with it, like the spirit world, right?"

"Right," her eyes kind of light up at the revelation.

"Well… here's where things go from interesting to a little bit insane," I say taking her hands in mine, "but everything I say is the truth, nothing but the truth," our eyes lock and she nods slowly. "The other theory, alternate earths, is a much stranger theory. Divergent realities… One that says there's a world out there where instead of having this conversation, we're fighting. One that instead of Aang - the last avatar - dying, he could have lived. But then there's the problem of completely different planes of existence…"

"Percy, stop," she says shaking her head, "don't lie to me. If you don't want to tell me, don't. But don't think I'm stupid…" she says quietly. I take her face in my hands and look her dead in the eyes.

"I'm not. I wish there was a less insane explanation for everything but this is the truth, I swear on the River Styx," I nearly jumped out of my skin as thunder crashed around us louder than I'd ever heard it before, "oh… shit," I mutter before calling out, "UP TO THAT POINT AND UNTIL THE END OF THIS CONVERSATION," thunder crashed again in acknowledgment of the oath's second part, startling me again.

"Percy?" Suki's eyes are wider than I've ever seen them and I take her hands again.

"That was the most binding oath I've ever taken, if I tell a lie in the middle of this conversation I'll drop dead. Do you understand?" she nods her head at both the serious tone and what I'm assuming are nearly dead eyes, "good, that being said," I sigh gently before looking at my lap and then back up to her, meeting her gaze and with the words: "I don't come from this reality, Raava came to me in a dream and asked me to be her Avatar. I don't know if I was her first choice or not but I do know that back home I had nothing to go back to, no one I could really call a friend, no one I could even call family. I was alone," I feel tears fall from my eyes but the details are just too painful to explain right now but I carry on.

"My name is Perseus Jackson, I am the son of Poseidon the god of the seas and tides, the Earthshaker. The closest parallel I can think of here is La, the Spirit of the Ocean. In fact, the Unagi went so far as to call me Lord La's chosen for some strange reason…" I say thinking of the odd sea serpent, "but that doesn't matter. Where I'm from, I had just fought a war but it was Pyrrhic at best," I whisper hoarsely.

"What's Pyrrhic?" Suki asks quietly.

"When you lost too much but you technically still won the fight. I've been fighting the Titan of Time since I was twelve years old… I lost my best friend, my family, most of my close friends, and the girl I had fallen head over heels for," my voice breaks once again and the tears fall faster, "when Raava came to me I wanted to tell her to fuck off, but she said there was another war, a worse war coming…"

"What's worse than fighting the spirit of time?" Suki asks in pure horror.

"Fighting the embodiment of the Earth itself, yeah… Mother Nature is apparently a homicidal bitch out to kill everyone," I say with a small smile, enjoying the irony behind that, "but you asked about Jimmy Kimmel." She nods and I can't help the smile that crosses my face.

"Back home, we invented something called a TV. We could watch news reports, entertainment shows, or sometimes just listen to people talk because we wanted to. It's basically a theatre you can have in your house," I say with a shrug, "Jimmy Kimmel is one of the better-known talk show hosts, you can watch but sometimes the shows will be recorded hundreds of miles away. A TV is a box with a glass front that you just sit in front of to watch," Suki just looks at me in disbelief before the realization hits her.

"Like watching late-night Jimmy Kimmel… you couldn't do a thing except watch," her eyes are huge as she looks at me.

"Pretty much, I was even screaming at the screen for me to do something other than what the Avatar State up and decided to do for me. That was the most terrifying experience of my life Suki…" I say quietly, "I've faced gods intent to kill me, monsters hellbent on making me a chew toy, been thrown out of a volcano at mach one," I shake my head as Suki slaps me lightly.

"How the _hell _did you get launched out of a _Volcano!? _And what does _mach one _mean!? Does that mean they're more!?" she nearly yells at me.

"Well… I was trying to save A…" I hesitate for a second, "Annabeth," I say for the first time since she died, "and had to fight off a horde of monsters that were making Kronos', the time Titan's, scythe," I shiver just thinking of the _evil _thing.

"A Spirit used a scythe?" she asked in flat disbelief, I just shrugged.

"He was supposed to be an agriculture god but then prophecy came into play and he became the bad guy," I tell the girl who nods slowly.

"Okay, I believe you. I don't know how or why but I do," she says shaking her head, "it's completely unbelievable and you know it but I believe you, Percy."

I nearly tackle her as I hug her, pressing her down to the bed as I finally let myself cry - let myself mourn for the fallen as she sits with my head in the crook of her neck, her fingers in my hair as she whispers sweet nothings in my ear. Eventually I come back to myself and face Suki.

"Thank you…" I whisper as we lock eyes. Her eyes are shining as she presses her lips to mine for a brief second. Our foreheads rest together and she asks:

"Percy?"

"Yes?"

"What's a mach?"

**XXX**

"Are you sure you can't travel, master?" I clasp hands with the wizened master standing in front of me.

"I am… It would not be wise for a Firebending master to travel to the North Pole in times like these, even in the company of the Avatar," he says gingerly, "also, my body is healed but I am not well. I cannot draw breath like I once could, I am no longer fit to be your master until I can better myself… No. This is where we must part ways," the old firebender says quietly, rubbing his chest, "and we must come to terms with the fact that I wasn't the Firebending master you needed."

"You're an excellent Firebender, Master Jeong Jeong," I say quietly before smirking, "but you're still a traditional old fart that I couldn't really learn from." Jeong Jeong throws his head back in laughter before coughing and clutching at his chest.

"Percy!" Katara wacks my arm as Suki smirks at my side, "have some respect!"

"I do, I do," I say holding my arms up protectively, "but he's still a traditional old fart," I say with a smile that Jeong Jeong happily returns with a bright, slightly rattling laugh.

"That I am," the old master says brightly, "but I also know that I cannot teach you, you are the most powerful waterbender I've ever met but you are not a student of fire. Perhaps you are a child of lightning but I cannot generate the cold fire," he said with a bit of disappointment in his eyes, "but if you fly quickly, you should reach the North Pole by sundown. Go," he said, bowing to me. I returned the bow and leapt onto Appa in silence. Next stop? The North Pole.

**XXX**

Scratch that, next stop: big ass iceberg in the ass end middle of nowhere.

"Why'd we stop?" Sokka asked as I pulled the map out, sitting down on the ice after shaping a few chairs for the group and a table for the map.

"To find out where we are," I said simply, pointing to a spot on the map that I knew we were at, "and this is it, about thirty miles from the tribe." I couldn't help the grin that crossed my face, "Jeong Jeong said we would be there before Sundown though," I said a bit confused.

"This far north the sun won't rise for a few months now, Percy," Katara said with a small smirk.

"Oh, right," I said scratching the back of my head, "my ba-"

That was the moment all hell decided to break loose.

A rogue wave crashed over the iceberg before I even had a chance to recognize it was heading for us. I nearly panicked as I tried to find some form of life in the cold, dark waters of the far north. For a normal human even a few _seconds _in this water could be lethal, the only saving grace we had was that the water was certainly above the magical thirty two degrees but unfortunately the one fact that Annabeth told me about water leaching heat from a body _twenty-five time faster _than air just _had _to cross my mind.

I dove deeper, trying to find the spark of warmth that would indicate where my friends were. I could feel Appa above me, floating in the water like nothing just happened. I finally found Suki and Sokka, Sokka was conscious and trying to work his way to the surface but Suki was _much _worse off. She was already blue and obviously unconscious. I bent a ball of air around their heads and shot them to the surface, willing the water around them to heat up to a solid ninety eight degrees.

I tried to find Katara but got my answer when Suki and Sokka were pulled from the water and onto Appa, but that wasn't all I found. I growled when I felt the three boats rocketing away at fifty knots, impressive but not _nearly _good enough. I felt the currents tighten around me like a rubber band before I was flung like an arrow toward the boats. I caught up to the trio of boats in less than six seconds and they had a good kilometer lead on me.

I tore out of the water running nearly two hundred knots, flying over the cresting waves like an arrow to skid to a stop on a wall of ice I made to stop the boats from going anywhere else.

"And who do you think you are?!" I asked the obvious fishermen.

"By La!" A man called out from the leftmost boat as the man behind the tiller on the middle boat step forward.

"We are just simple fisherman, good man. We thought you were potential enemies, we did what we had to do. If you were Waterbenders you would be fine and it appears you will be!" The man was old and grizzled but looked like he would be a good man underneath all of that.

"Fortunately enough I and one of my friends happen to be waterbenders or else her non bender brother and my lover would be dead right now," I say with the coldest glare I can force myself to pin on them. The man in the middle gulps slightly but nods.

"And who are you, stranger?"

"Perseus Jackson, successor of Aang, successor of Roku, of Kyoshi, of Kuruk the Avatar," I said to the group, "and I don't take kindly to people trying to kill me," even under the moonlight, the men look like they want to piss themselves.

"A-avatar!?" The skipper stammers out, "but you died!"

"No shit!" I called back with an eyeroll, "that's kind of the point isn't it!?"

"Oh… right," he said as his eyes widened. I let him make his own conclusions.

"Where have you been all this time!?" A voice from the right ship calls out, apparently they weren't going to make my job easy.

"Here and there," I called back easily even as Appa roared and pushed himself to a speed I've never seen him make before.

"Percy!" Katara's voice cut through the air like a knife and I was already in action. I dove under the water and had the currents launch me on an interception angle with Appa. I landed on his saddle easily and my eyes widened when I saw the state Suki was in.

"We have to heal her," I said urgently, already pouring my energy into my hands with Katara. Together, we tried to force Suki to get better but it wasn't working. Thankfully, Katara got the water out of her lungs but she was still living on borrowed time. I growled slightly as I pushed even more of my energy into her but it was useless, her face only changed a little bit of color but it was still unnaturally pale. I growled as I looked down at the boats with an idea coming to mind, "Appa, take us down!" I called to the bison who immediately set down in the water.

"What has happened!?" The skipper asked as I came aboard without so much as a _by your leave._

"She drowned, looks like hypothermia's setting in too," I said to the man who immediately grasped the seriousness of the situation.

"Full heading back to the tribe! Rafailu!" he called to the left ship, "remain with the Avatar's bison and friends, lead them back to the tribe. This trip must be made quickly!" He wasn't able to finish his sentence before we were rocketing away toward the iceberg I made. I immediately willed it to shatter and part which it did easily, much to the surprise of the men who just poured on more speed - helped out by me.

"P-p-percy," Suki's weak voice said from her place in my lap.

"I'm here, Suki," I said quietly, cupping her face with my hand.

"S-s-s-so, c-co-co-cold," she chattered as I tried to pull her even closer to my chest silently, trying to keep back my tears.

'_Tui, La, if you're listening, help me out here… She's my everything,' _I prayed desperately, since the gods of my home weren't helping I thought I'd give them a shot. It could have been my imagination but I thought I saw the sea turn still as glass.

**XXX**

Minutes later found us disembarking from the boat, not even taking time to admire the ice architecture.

"Make way!" The skipper called as we dashed through the streets of the Northern Water Tribe. People parted left and right as the tall, weathered man and I - an admittedly strange sight in my black parka and pants with a pale, shaking girl in my arms - sprinted through the streets.

"Elopras!" A voice called from in front of us, "What is the meaning of this!?"

"No time, Arnook! The only way to save the girl is with the help of the spirits," he said leaving me reeling a bit, I managed to catch a flash of purple under white but I just kept sprinting behind the old seaman.

Together, we barreled through the palace, nearly knocking over servants, guards, and other people in our rush. Surprisingly, we slowed down as we got further into the palace until we were at a near walking pace. I glanced down at Suki and my heart nearly stopped, her eyes were closed and she was turning an unnatural blue.

"We have to hurry!" I cried out and the man turned to look at me and then at her with his eyes widening.

"Then come," he said as he pushed open a door to a warm, humid room, "this is the spirit grotto, if there's a chance for her to have life then the spirits must give it to her."

"The spirits?" I asked incredulously.

"Tui and La," _that _got my attention, "place her in the pool, hurry boy!"

I immediately sprang into action, placing her in the water even as a voice called to me, saying: _what are you willing to give? What are you willing to sacrifice?_

"Anything!" I said to the man's question.

_Then Come._

Two words, two simple words, were all I needed to dive headfirst into the rather deep pond with the circling Koi. The Black Koi looked at me before its eyes started glowing a deep, magnificent blue but I didn't notice as I was too busy screaming. It felt like the water was acid on my skin, scrubbing me clean of anything it deemed unworthy.

_The Curse Is Lifted, The Blessing Taken. From Life For Life, Your Sacrifice Is Accepted - Son of Neptune, Son of Poseidon. Go._

The voice said as my vision faded just in time for me to see Suki's eyes turn to that same bright white-blue color even as her hair changed from chocolate brown to night black.


	15. Ghosts

**Percy XII**

I opened my eyes to the strangest place I'd ever seen. It was a beach with a plain behind me with a sea as far as I could see ahead of me. I raised my eyebrow as I felt the air temperature around me drop but I was still comfortable.

I watched the surface of the water ripple a fair way out but intensify, almost as if something was moving toward me as fast as I chased the fishermen earlier. I felt for my ring but, to my shock, it wasn't there.

I looked down slightly panicked but was even more confused by what I saw I was wearing, my Camp T-shirt, necklace, jeans, and beat-up Nikes, my usual outfit I wore at camp. I reached into my pocket and hoped beyond hope that the familiar shape would be there. It wasn't, but the weight at my hip, my boot, and from my watch were still there.

I sighed slightly as I felt Riptide's absence even more acutely than I have ever since I came to this world. _'I still have a piece of home but I never use it,' _passes through my head, _'not like it could work anyway…'_

That's the last thing I can think of as the water parts in front of me revealing an absolute bear of a man wearing, ironically, a bearskin over his shoulders, a beard, and the normal blue of the Water Tribes. The man locked eyes with me and smiled brightly.

"Percy! Good to see you! I'm Kuruk and I've been waiting for _ages _to talk to you," the man said as he clasped my hand in his, shaking it vigorously, "_and _you're already the Wolf of the South!? I wasn't the Wolf of the North until I passed thirty, and I held the record!" He boomed and I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Really? That's great," I said with a grin plastered on my face, "but you didn't meet me just to chat did you?"

"Nah," he waved his hand casually, "your body is completely drained. Your little dip in the Spirit Grotto completely drained you and Lord La took his pound of flesh too."

"What the Hades do you mean by that?"

"He took your Achilles Curse, the Blessing of the Styx I think is what Raava called it?" he said, thoughtfully stroking his beard as he pulled the bear head off of his own, "anyway," he waved his hand, "your curse is gone so your little fire immunity trick is gone now, you'll have to deal with burns and cuts and broken bones like the rest of us now."

I felt my shoulders slump slightly, half in relief and half in resignation, "well, that's not a bad thing entirely. The curse was too draining, if it wasn't for the curse I doubt it would have taken me four days to wake up from my little stunt in healing Jeong Jeong."

"Oh yeah, you went _way _too overboard with that," he said with a small flinch, "and sorry about the Avatar State trigger, it only happens when most of us think it's absolutely necessary until you can dip into it yourself. You managed it with Aang and the Firebenders in the forest that one time but you drained yourself way too fast in the second. You're a bit of a special case when it comes to Firebending," he said with a slight grimace, "you'll have to learn lightning first."

I felt my spine stiffen at that, "learn _lightning!? _Dude, I don't know if you've noticed or not by I'm a son of _Poseidon, _not _Zeus! _I don't know if I can even learn how to bend lightning!"

"You've already bent air," he pointed out calmly, putting me off balance for a second, "Zeus has no authority here. Yes, he has influence and was the Canvas for the Zephrosi - or the Seven Winds the Airbenders worship," I felt my eyes widen to the size of baseballs at that, _'shit, they _are _fanatics!' _and am promptly pulled back to reality by Kuruk saying, "but Zeus himself has no power here. You can fly, you can shoot lightning, or whatever you want without any fear from him," he said with a smile until it fell from his face as rage replaced it, "but you do have enemies, Avatar Perseus."

"Enemies how?" I asked carefully, looking at the rage and grief on the man's face that I knew intimately from the mirror.

"Koh, the Face Stealer," he growled, "he stole my Ummi's face to _punish me," _he slammed a fist into the sand, "I went to confront the Face Stealer, to kill him for what he did. I wanted to kill him," he whispered as the rage immediately turned to grief, "I wanted to save her but I was too late… He - he stole her face to punish me. If I killed him then her spirit would be lost, but you can save her!"

He looked at me pleadingly from his knees, I didn't even notice he fell to them.

"How can I save her?" I ask quietly, my mind flashing back to the Battle of Manhatten.

**XXX**

"**They're on their way," I said. "You've lost."**

"**I haven't even started."**

** He advanced with blinding speed. Grover-brave, stupid satyr that he was-tried to protect me, but Kronos tossed him aside like a ragdoll.**

** I sidestepped and jabbed under Kronos's guard. It was a good trick. Unfortunately, Luke knew it. He countered the strike and disarmed me using one of the first moves he ever taught me.**

**The Last Olympian - Rick Riordian.**

He countered with a backhanded slash to my sword, edge to flat. I could only watch as Riptide snapped in two in my hands.

** "STOP!" Annabeth came from nowhere.**

** Kronos whirled to face her with slashed with Backbiter, but somehow Annabeth caught the strike on her dagger hilt. It was a move only the quickest and most skilled knife fighter could've managed. Don't ask me where she found the strength, but she stepped in closer for leverage, their blades crossed, and for a moment she stood face-to-face with the Titan lord, holding him at a standstill.**

** "Luke," she said, gritting her teeth, "I understand now. You have to trust me."**

** Kronos roared in outrage. "Like Castellan is dead! His body will burn away as I assume my true form!"**

** I tried to move, but my body was frozen again. How could Annabeth, battered and half-dead with exhaustion, have the strength to fight a Titan like Kronos?**

**XXX**

** "Family, Luke. You promised."**

**XXX**

** "Annabeth…" ...it wasn't the Titan's voice. It was Luke's.**

**XXX**

** "Percy, please…"**

** I could move again.**

** I surged forward and scooped up her knife. I knocked Backbiter out of Luke's hand…**

**XXX**

** He stepped toward Annabeth, but I put myself between him and her.**

** Anger rippled across his face. Kronos's voice growled: "Jackson…" **

**XXX**

** "He's changing," [Luke said,] "Help. He's… he's almost ready. He won't need my body anymore. Please-"**

** "NO!" Kronos bellowed.**

**XXX**

The Titan looked for his sword but found it at his throat.

"Don't try it," I growled, "I don't know where your Achilles spot is but-"

**He pushed me out of the way with such force I landed next to Annabeth and cracked my head on Athena's throne… **

I had Backbiter in my hand but could only watch in horror as Annabeth's dagger arced into his hand. The only thing I could do was watch as Annabeth stood up to the Titan as my vision swam.

"Luke," she said, standing in front of him, "I know you're in there, fight him!"

"Annabeth," he said, "help me," he shivered and his body pulsed with gold light before he fell to his knees with a scream. He placed his hand on the marble floor and panted out "help me with my armor," as his body turned an even brighter shade of gold. I tried to stumble to my feet but could only struggle to gain my feet as Luke spoke.

"I'm not making it out of here, Wise Girl," he said somberly as his breastplate fell off his chest with a clang on the floor. He brought the knife up to his armpit and, with a look of determination, pushed the knife in. There was a flash of golden light that screamed in pain but it didn't do anything other than blind me. When my vision cleared, I looked up to see Annabeth crouched over Luke's prone form. I tried to stand again, but found myself on my knees as I listened to the Son of Hermes' final words.

"Did-did you ever wonder what we could have been?" he choked out weakly as Annabeth cradled his head in her lap.

I propped myself up on Backbiter, trying to make my way over to duo but failed miserably.

"You were my brother, Luke. Family," she said quietly. Even from my position, I could see his eyes harden and I knew with perfect clarity what was about to happen.

"Then I'm sorry," he said as he drove the knife into her chest, I roared in anger seeing my best friend collapse with her own dagger driven into her chest. I felt my body move and pulled her head into my lap as she grasped at the hilt feebly.

"Annabeth, hey, it's going to be okay. We're going to get you to Apollo," I said as she pulled the dagger from her chest.

"T-too la-late, Seaweed… Brain…" she gasped, her hand reaching for my face. I took it as tears rolled down my face and onto her. I could only watch in horror as the light left her storm grey eyes.

I felt my anger rise as I turned to the fallen son of Hermes, but he was dead too. "Burn in Tartarus, you bastard," I growled, watching the bastard's body turn to ash.

"**It shall be done,"** I staggered in slight surprise before registering the voice as Hades'. I tried to stand with Annabeth's body in my arms. It was like holding up the sky again but I managed to stand and limp my way over to lay her at the foot of Athena's throne, immediately falling to my knees beside her.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Hestia with tears rolling down her own face as we stood vigil over the brave daughter of Athena and the ashes of the traitor.

"She would want you to have this," Hestia murmured as she placed something into my hand, I looked down at the familiar blood-stained celestial bronze dagger in my hand and simply shoved it through my belt. I picked up Backbiter and snarled at it slightly but watched as it shrunk down into a knife. I pulled my small hunting knife from its place at my ankle and pushed the cursed blade into the sheathe there.

I looked at Hestia who looked back at me knowingly, "you'll have to use that sword one day," she said, "perhaps that knife as well. Use them well, Perseus," she said as she took her seat by the hearth once again while I simply sat down with my back against dad's throne, my eyes squeezed tight as the tears came once again.

"Not if I don't have to," was the last thing I said until the gods arrived.

**XXX**

**Flashback end…**

**XXX**

'_Looks like the time has come,' _I thought as I looked at the man in front of me.

"You realize that if I do this, I may kill her anyway?" I asked seriously, kneeling in front of Kuruk once again. He hesitated for a beat before nodding slowly.

"Nothing is preferable to the torment she feels with the face stealer, save her… Please," he said quietly.

I nodded slowly, "where can I find him?"

"At the crest of the Valley of the Lost. Show no emotion when you speak to the Spirit, he will take your face if you show even a hint of any," he said seriously, "no metal can harm him, only your hands and your elements," his eyes met mine and I shook my head slowly, pulling the dagger from my belt, his eyes widening at the glowing bronze blade.

"Celestial Bronze," I said quietly, "a weapon used to slay immortals. Koh is immortal, this will do the job."

Kuruk clasped my shoulder for a beat before nodding, without a word the man slipped into the sea once again. I twirled the blade in my hand for a beat, stopping when I realized what I was doing.

"This is for you, Annabeth," I said quietly, walking from the water and into the forest.

"Percy," a voice said quietly from my left, I didn't even look over as the familiar form of Roku fell in beside me, "you must not do this. Koh and the mother of Faces keep the Balance of the Spirit World as much as Raava and Vaatu keep the balance on the mortal plane. If you do this then you will doom the Spirit world," he said grimly.

"He's Kronos, Roku," I said doggedly, "he's going down, and Vaatu hasn't been around for a long time apparently, so far the world has been fine. Only went down the shitter when Aang disappeared for a damn century."

"True, but tell me true, Avatar, would you let the world burn to satisfy your vengeance?"

I stop short and pull at my hair slightly, "my vengeance? No. But if this _thing _can come after _one _Avatar he doesn't like by going after his lover he can do it _again! _I won't let that happen Roku!" Roku looked startled but he nodded all the same.

"I understand," Roku said sagely with a frown still marring his face, "but Death is a part of the balance, Perseus."

"Death, yes. But a spirit that kills on his whims and wishes? That's not balance, that's chaos. The faster you see that then the faster we'll be able to bring _real _balance," I said, finally turning ti face him.

"Nothing I say will deter you from this path, will it?"

"No," I said simply, turning back to the path and away from the old man.

"You would pervert the path of the Avatar," Roku said quietly. I stopped and turned back to face him, anger coursing through me.

"Like Yangchen? Or maybe Kyoshi?" I spat, his eyes widened in what looked like shock.

"How-"

"How did I know?" I cut him off midsentence, "how did I know about the butcher and wasn't it _you _who told me about Yangchen? No, Roku. You were the first good Avatar in _years _gamóto! And the one after you never even had a chance to be an Avatar, did he!?"

"No, he didn't."

"Then give me a chance, Roku," I said quietly, "let me take out one cancer. You know damn well that this _Koh _is a disease, a danger. He needs to die."

"Even if it upsets the balance?"

"Balance can be restored, Koh can be killed, and we can live to fight another day," I said, turning up the road again, leaving Roku standing on the path as I walked alone.

**XXX**

"The valley of the Lost he said," I grumbled, "be easy to find, he said!"

"Indeed, little demigod," a smooth voice said from behind me, I whipped Annabeth's dagger out of it's sheath, "impressive reflexes, young man," the giant _centipede _said. I could only stare in horrified fascination at the thing in front of me. "It has been many years since I have faced a man whose face I couldn't steal… You interest me, Avatar. Why have you come here? Convinced by that fool Kuruk?" it chittered as I stared at it, my dagger slowly falling to my side.

"Kind of," I said, "you killed someone close to him."

"As Kronos killed one close to you, no… It was three, was it not?" The thing's _entire face _blinked and the baboon looking thing was replaced with a gorgeous woman with long, flowing hair. I raised my dagger once again.

"Leave them out of this," I hissed.

"Ah, my apologies, hero," he said with a small smirk crawling onto the woman's face, "but the point is this: you want revenge but it was stolen from you. That filth, Luke, died before you could kill him yourself, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did," I growled back, "do you have a death wish, Face Stealer?"

"No, but it appears you do, little demigod," he said quietly.

"What the Hades does that mean!?" I roared.

"Patience and all will be revealed. If you still decide I should die after my tale is finished then strike me down," he said seriously, "our tale, the tale of this World and the World of the Benders, is a distorted mirror of your reality. When your Titans rose, so did the first spirits. I was the second, my mother the first with Raava and Vaatu. I watched as the Realm of the benders rose, the seas, the skies, the first fire, and the earth itself. I am old, Avatar, very, very old.

"The spirits of these skies, seas, and fires could not be overruled by your gods as they did not exist in this world and so the Spirits of Sky, Sea, Earth, and Fire were born. The Zephrosi, the Terasauti, Agni, Tui, and La, all rose to rule the untameable. But they were spirits and spirits cannot interact with that which is mortal, your ways are not our ways. Thus the immortals chose greater mortals and granted them with the ability to control their elements, to bend them to their will. These beings became the Lion-Turtles, demi-immortals with the ability to teach Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Aether.

"These Lion-Turtles were charged to defend their element and only give it to mortals in the direst of circumstances. Then the humans arrived from your world with a few other animals."

I could only listen in shock as the spirit went on.

"The first to come was a man named Remus, he was followed by another named Jason. Remus was alone for many, many years. He claimed he was struck down by his own brother but Lord Hades gave him a chance to scout this new world. A hundred years later, Remus disappeared and your gods came," I could feel the centipede's rage slowly rising now, "they killed my father, Jackson. This Zeus of yours did it himself. It is strange though, the timelines of our worlds do not align…"

I tried to process that but the Spirit kept going, "Zeus killed my father with a sword of Bronze and light, it was the strangest sight I had ever to behold. The battle raged for three days but ended with the Gods and Spirits who had joined with them claiming victory. Tui, La, and the Unagi of the seas were the only ones to join hands with the Gods - the Lion-Turtles had joined with them as well. Your Uncle killed my father, Perseus Jackson, but the laws your gods forced upon me forbid me from touching a descendant of the gods and only disciplining those who have wronged me and only if they show a hint of emotion. Those rules are not strict, Perseus, anyone who comes into my domain has wronged me - if they show emotion I am free to snatch their identity.

"You were right about me Jackson," the centipede hissed as it blinked again, the woman's face changing to a howling monkey, "but you were wrong, if you attack me then any protection you have from the laws of the gods are null and void. Meaning if you don't kill me then I will be _free again!" _it said.

"And if I decided to walk away here and now?" I asked quietly, feeling for any water around me but finding none.

"Then Ummi's fate would be your woman's own," it hissed.

I didn't say a word more, charging the thing as fast as I possibly could, praying to Tui and La to give me strength.

I leapt into the air but it barely got me a few inches above the blasted thing's face. Thankfully, I was able to take it by surprise and tried to drive the celestial bronze through a segment in the giant insect's shell. To my horror, the blade hit the shell and glanced off - leaving me on the back of a writhing, pissed off centi-spirit.

"Die, demigod!" it hissed as it turned to face me, the eight limbs on its head grabbing me by the shoulder and throwing me off its back. I hissed in pain, feeling the lacerations on my back even as I slid down the wall in the cavern. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to roll to the left as the faces on the thing changed to a terrifying vortex of black and red, "look upon the face of Koh!"

'_Curse of Achilles? Gone. This guy's ego? Kronos level. Wonderful," _I thought as I charged once again, activating my shield and aiming the celestial bronze dagger at the hole in the Face Stealers, uh… face. The dagger hit square, much to my satisfaction, but that lasted all of two seconds.

I watched in horror as my last tie to Annabeth shattered like glass against the Face Stealer. I slammed my shield into its head, praying for more time.

I thought furiously of how I could kill it but my mind always came back to one place, "you thought you could actually kill me, Demigod? You thought a host for a _minor _spirit could destroy a _Great Spirit!?" _it laughed hysterically as I knelt down, "giving up, Avatar? Oh, your friends' faces will be a wonderful addition to my collection," it said greedily.

"Not quiet," I whispered, unsheathing the small dagger at my ankle.

"Another dagger, sea spawn?" It scoffed but I twisted the pommel once and watched as the sword I'd feared since I was twelve sprang to life in my hand. Backbiter, Kronos' symbol of power, the only blade that could stand against a god. The Face Stealer took a step back as he looked at the half Celestial Bronze, Half Steel blade in my hand, "what devilry is this?!" he hissed.

"Kronos' Scythe," I could tell that if the Stealer had eyes they would have widened as I charged the bastard down. The centipede tried to scramble away but I cut at a few of its legs, just enough to get a howl of pain from the Spirit. I jumped on its back once again, driving the three and half foot long spatha into the Face Stealer's back. The monster howled in agony as the cursed blade tried to absorb his essence. Miraculously, the Face Stealer bucked my off in front of him. I managed to land on my feet with the sword raised.

"Mercy, please mercy," the creature begged, I just snarled slightly and slashed Backbiter across the monster's swirling face. Shockingly, Koh disappeared in a cloud of ash and a flash of white light.

I covered my eyes almost immediately but removed my arm when the light faded. I pulled my arm away to come face to face with at least a hundred ghosts standing in front of me, a trio of familiar faces leading the way.

"I thank you, Avatar," Ummi said as she bowed slightly, her translucent hair flowing to the floor. I wasn't able to say a word as she and the other spirits faded from view one after the other. I stared slack-jawed at the sight as the hundred spirits faded from ghosts to a form that was more like a ball. Slowly, the ghastly balls started flowing together. With each spirit to join, the ball thickened more and more until there was a solid orb of light pulsing in front of me.

For a second everything stilled until the voice of the legion said, _"the debt must be paid. You have freed us from our torment, your sword shall be cleansed from its."_

Immediately, the ball of light shot forward like an arrow - slamming into Backbiter.

It felt like fire flared down the blade of the sword as the celestial bronze and silver polished steel wrapped around each other. The sword flared bright white as the feeling of dread disappeared from the blade entirely. As the light disappeared, a few things were immediately clear. The first, this wasn't Backbiter.

Where Backbiter was a four-foot longsword, this was a three and a half foot Jian. The once dual sided metal sword had changed from its original look to something that looked like it was wrapped in wire, the steel and bronze almost indiscernible. I looked down the blade at the hilt and pommel and noticed that the guard was the same metal as the blade and the pommel was as well, but the hilt had a white wood twisting around what looked like ebony. I raised the sword, twirling it experimentally and found it was nearly perfect in my hand.

"Incredible," I whispered as I found myself going back to the day where Miss Dodds attacked me, the day I first held Riptide. This felt just as natural in my hand as Riptide did. The blade was light and fast with the balance being a few inches above the crossguard. I twisted the pommel and watched with satisfaction as the blade shrunk down from it's Jian form to something a bit more believable. It wasn't quite a pen but seeing the sword shrink down into necklace and pendant was almost as satisfying.

"Well done, Perseus," a voice said from behind me, I turned around to see a woman in a green dress standing there in familiar makeup, "long did I desire that foul creature dead, but none of my attempts bore fruit," Avatar Kyoshi said as she walked toward me, "come, we have much to discuss."


	16. Explaination

Ladies and Gentlemen, Nerds and Geeks, if you are reading this then I either welcome you to a new adventure or bid you ado from the last. I believe I owe anyone who has spent the time reading the last story an apology as I am transitioning away from the Wolf of the Water Tribe's original narrative as it has just moved too far away from what I had originally envisioned at this time last year. One year ago - to the day - this was first uploaded to AO3 and that was where it began and grew but it has really flourished here on Fanfiction, and for that, I could never be more grateful. But I no longer believe that the story is what you, the reader, deserve. For that reason, I am in the process of rewriting this story with my wonderful, awesome beta Hkurtz2013 without whom I would not be half the writer I am today. I am so, so, _so _grateful that all of you have taken the time to read this fic and I apologize for the long update times but that was mostly due to the fact that I had not found a solid direction for the fic to take from where I had wanted it to go originally to where it's destined today.

I thank all my reviewers without whom I would be relaxed and happy to just spend my time doing something actually productive with my life instead of writing fanfiction but, as they say, part of the ship, part of the crew. I thank all my readers who are silent yet steady in reading, those who enjoy the work in peace. Now, we move onto the newly rewritten Wolf of the Water Tribe, another victim of 2020. I wish you all well and thank you all very much.


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